He was a Doctor, not a Botanist!
by Katiikiinz
Summary: Getting sent on a new mission to examine the plants and wildlife on a new planet only meant one thing for Jim Kirk, adventure! Which, of course will leave him in a spot of trouble or two... This is Captain James T. Kirk we are talking about here! - COMPLETE -
1. Chapter 1

_**Authors Note -**_

 _Hey, this is actually my second fanfic, however I deleted my first story due to not having the confidence to continue it. Anyway, this is my newest try! I hope you enjoy it, it would mean so so much to me if you could leave me a review, just to boost the confidence up a bit, I have no idea if what I am writing is any good or not!_

 _I'm also REALLY struggling with Spock, so any pm's about how to make him better would be appreciated so much too._

 _I'm hoping to write chapter 2 tomorrow night, so please! let me know what you think :D_

 _Updated 31/05/2014 - Now beta'ed for easy reading! ;)  
_

 _ **Disclaimer - I DO NOT Own Star Trek, or its Characters.**_

* * *

 **Chapter One**

Leonard McCoy counted up the preloaded hypos as he placed them in his bag. Normally he wouldn't have felt the need to bring so many, but going to a new planet filled with new types of plants and flowers, he knew straight up that he would need a few, what with Captain Allergy insisting he join the landing party. Even if the purpose of the mission was to examine the plants and what medical properties they may contain, he still didn't want to go. Damn space, filled with nothing but disease and darkness. Damn it, he was a doctor, not a botanist.

He heard the familiar voice of Uhura across the com as he finished putting the last of the hypos in his satchel and grabbed his trusty tricorder.

"Doctor McCoy to the transporter room".

He gave Nurse Chapel a nod as he left sickbay. "Here's hoping when I come back, I'm on my own".

Nurse Chapel grinned as he walked through the doors and they whooshed shut.

* * *

"Cheer up Bones! It'll be fun, space explorers remember?" Kirk was surprisingly upbeat, probably down to the fact he hadn't been able to explore a new planet for a while and what it had to offer before. That, and nobody really knew much of what was down there or what to expect. At least the atmosphere was safe enough not to require those claustrophobic space suits he hated so much. McCoy just gave him one of his famous "Really Jim? You're using that line on me again?" looks, with his eyebrow raised and he shook his head. Jim knew that look well. After all he had seen it many times since the whole Khan incident. It's like Bones just wanted to wrap his captain up in cotton wool and protect him, but Jim hated that thought – it was HIS job to protect his ship and his crew after all.

Now the whole landing party had finally made it into the room. They stepped onto the transporter. "Energise Mr Scott" Kirk requested as he spun on his heel to face him.

"Aye Captain." 

* * *

McCoy felt the usual transporter tingle as they all beamed down onto the planet. As his vision came back into focus and the wave of transporter nausea left him, he turned around to check on the rest of the landing party; Captain Kirk, Spock and a couple of red shirts. He didn't know why he always felt the need to do that. Probably just his medical training kicking in; and he didn't trust the transporter. A machine that converted a person into energy patterns and then rematerialized the cells? That just can't be safe.

The planet looked like something out of a story book he had read to his daughter, Joanna, when she was younger. She always loved a story at bedtime and even though he was normally too busy, he always tried his hardest to read to her.

They were beamed down into a small clearing in thick humid forest, surrounded by the tallest trees he had even seen. The trunks were so solid it would take more than a phaser to cut through them. He looked down at his feet, being careful to watch his step, not knowing what could be hidden on the forest floor under the biggest leaves he had ever seen and thick overgrowing roots from the trees surrounding them.

Spock had already got his tricorder out and began taking small samples from the hot air that surrounded them. It wasn't a temperature that they were used to and sweat had already made its way onto their foreheads giving them all a shine. Well, everyone but Spock. This was easily tolerable for him as the Vulcan sun was much warmer.

"A class M planet captain, capable of withholding life forms" – confirming what The Enterprise's scanners had picked up.

Jim, who still hadn't moved much from where he had been beamed down, looked around hoping to see something more interesting than trees, but was unsuccessful. He spoke to his landing party "The scanners showed only animal life forms on the planet. Fan out and see what you can find. Report back here with your findings."

But I wouldn't expect much… he thought to himself. He missed the sense of adventure of meeting new alien species and he was determined more than ever to find it on this planet. He had a tingling feeling in his gut ever since they beamed down. Usually his gut knew best. Either that or he was hungry.

The landing party went in separate directions in an attempt to find new plants to take samples of. Jim, however, wasn't interested in plants, and he just wanted to see what else was on this planet.

He started moving north, having to beat the plants and leaves out of his way to make a path. He must have walked miles before his ears pricked up to the sound of running water. He stopped in his tracks to try and hear it better. Yes! That was clearly a stream of some sort. He started moving closer to the sound. If there was going to be anything exciting on this damn planet, surely it was going to be close to the water he heard.

Starting to see a new type of light in the trees ahead, he turned his strides into a light jog and focused on the light ahead of him. The ground below him started turning into a small decline, but the excitement had overtaken his mind, distracting him from the ground. The next thing he knew, his right foot had caught an uprooted tree root, sending him crashing to the ground with a thump. Jim hit his head hard on a perfectly placed rock, sending him straight into the darkness of unconsciousness. His limp body kept rolling down the incline he had been running down. Jim was in trouble here, not that he knew it at the time. His body finally came to a stop, thanks to the ground levelling out before the stream of water that Jim had heard prior to his fall. He must have rolled a good few meters.

He lay down on the bank, his golden shirt torn from the roots and rocks he had just rolled over, his whole body covered in cuts. Bones was going to be pissed when he found him, if he found him.

* * *

A few hours had passed and the landing party had already reassembled in the small clearing where they had originally beamed down. Small samples of different planets were already collected in glass beakers for testing aboard the ship and stacked together in a bag that Spock had brought down with him earlier.

McCoy was pacing in the clearing. He had been trying to communicate with Jim for the last 30 minutes and had no luck. Due to the magnetism under the planet's surface all McCoy could hear was mostly static. "I'm going to search for Jim" he declared to the landing party, "even you have to admit that this is out of character for him Spock".

Spock looked up from his tricorder. He had been registering the plants they had collected, naming each species and giving a small description. "Then let me assist you." He stood up and began to follow the doctor. Before they left the clearing, he turned to the two red shirts "Beam aboard with the samples, if they are not correctly stored then they will die. We will attempt to update the ship on the Captain's whereabouts in one hour. However, our communications may be compromised due to the nature of the planet's core."

The Doctor and Spock left through the clearing that Jim had already created earlier, luckily for them. Finding him shouldn't be a problem. McCoy's head started filling with all sorts of crazy situations Kirk could have got himself into. Heck, he knew it wasn't the first time after all.

* * *

 _ **To Be Continued...**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Authors Note:**_ _Thank you so much for all the kind reviews and private messages, it really encourages me to continue with the story more, I've been waiting near enough all day to start typing this! I hope you enjoy, please drop me a review as I said, it fills me with more and more confidence. Any mistakes are my own and I am still struggling with Spock, so any advice is welcomed again._

 _31/05/2015 - Now Beta'ed for easy reading ;)_

* * *

 **Chapter Two**

Jim bolted straight up from the now damp floor, panting heavily for breaths. His eyes slowly came into focus and he noticed that it was a lot darker than before. _How long have I been out? Oh shit._ His head hurt. He let out a groan and rubbed the front of his head instinctively, feeling a rather large raised bump. He moved his hand back down and checked for blood. _Yep, blood too. Bones was going to be more than pissed._ He let go of another groan and looked ahead. Well, at least he had found the source of the sound he had been following.

He very feebly attempted to stand and failed. The second he tried to put weight onto the foot, he tripped and he was on his backside. _Great,_ he thought, _just great._ Jim reached for his communicator attached to his belt to realise it was no longer there. He assumed it had come unattached from him during his fall, along with his phaser. Even better!

He let out a huge sigh. _Okay, time for a "self-diagnosis" as Bones would call it._ First up was his head. He reached to check the bump and drew in a gasp. _Yep, that's still there, but at least the blood had dried now_. The salty sweat from the forest's humid temperature made the cut sting but it wasn't anything he couldn't cope with.

Next, he checked his arms by flapping them like a bird. Other than the odd graze, they were fine. His thighs were just the same, however as he bent his knee and his right ankle moved he felt a huge wave of pain. He felt his boot getting tighter around his foot. He had to get his boot off before his foot swelled too much. Luckily, Jim was easily able to carefully lift his foot and take his boot off without a problem. He didn't think it was broken, just a sprain, but then again his medical knowledge hasn't done him that much good in the past.

He thought back to the time he had ignored a gash in his back caused by an unknown creature on one of those "straight-forward missions" they had been on. He had failed to mention to the doctor that it had even occurred, as he had been feeling fine. Until one week later, he woke up in sickbay after suffering a severe infection that resulted in thirty stitches and a blood transfusion.

He shook his head to himself. _Nope, I'm pretty sure this is just a sprain, positive thinking and all that. I just need to get the swelling down a bit._ He looked around at the darkening forest. He was pretty sure he wasn't going to find ice, but it didn't hurt to look. They were on a strange planet after all. He let out yet another sigh and bowed his head, letting the sweat drops slide down his face and drip from the tip of his nose. He closed his eyes trying to soothe the pounding in his head and listened out for any calls of his name. Surely someone was looking for him by now? But rather than hearing the voices of his crew calling out to him, he was distracted by a rustling sound in the overgrown bushes in front of him. He opened his eyes and looked ahead. The whole green leafy bush rustled. There was something in there. Luckily, there was that river in front of him. He just prayed whatever it was, couldn't swim.

Jim quickly took off what was left of his gold shirt and began to tear it so that it made one long strip. Trying not to take his eyes off the moving bush,( please be friendly, please be friendly, please be friendly he chanted to himself), his breathing turned into a panicked pant as he started to wrap his bare ankle in his shirt to support it. If there was anything he had remembered from Basic Interplanet First Aid classes in the Starfleet Academy, it had to be this. He started to feel thankful about how every single cadet was made to pass the class before they could graduate, even if he did pass by the skin of his teeth. Thanks to Bones who had given him a few pointers just hours before the exam.

He tied a knot with his shirt and gritted his teeth as he tightened it. He had to move and quickly but before he had the chance, a giant bear like creature backed out of the bush. Jim froze. This bear-like creature was easily the biggest he had ever seen, with massive powerful looking paws, it was covered in thick black fur. Why it would need such a coat on this planet with this temperature, crossed Jim's mind, as he sat there frozen solid trying not to make a sound. Hopefully if it didn't hear him, it wouldn't feel the need to turn around.

But, he was wrong. Sweat continued to drip down the side of his face. He wasn't sure if it was the humid heat of the forest or the fact that he wasn't sure how to escape this monster if it could swim.

The creature turned and Jim took a breath of air in quickly. He felt the colour of his face drain. The bear was now facing him. However it acted as if it hadn't seen him. Jim had a puzzled look on his face that made him frown and he was reminded of his bump on the head as it let out a throb of pain. He moved his head to the side out of curiosity and waved his arms around, not that he was expecting it to wave back (although that would be quite amusing). Not a single reaction from the bear. Jim squinted his eyes to try and get a better look at the creatures face. It was then that he noticed the long thick wire-like whiskers surrounding its nose and the lack of eyes. He took one huge sigh of relief. Finally some luck! It was blind! _Well thank fuck for that._

Jim let the bear-like monster continue to graze on the leaves of the huge shrub it had come out of, the last thing he wanted to do was make it mad.

His ankle continued to swell and throb in sequence with his head. His ripped, golden shirt was still tightly holding his ankle in place. He picked his leg up, off the damp floor and scooted closer to the stream. Every move he made, his body shuddered with pain from somewhere or the other, everything hurt. He moved so that his whole right leg hovered over the stream. This has got to be better than nothing. He slowly put his foot into the stream. The water was cool, soothing and luckily there wasn't a current that he had to fight. Jim lay back on the bank of the stream. Now this was pain relief. He soon forgot about the pain in most parts of his body and placed his hands behind his head.

I'll just lay here for a while. He looked up at the clear sky. The planet's sun was still slowly setting and the air around him was settling into a more comfortable temperature. He took a deep breath and shut his eyes, listening to the peaceful noises of the bear across the stream, still grazing, and hoping to hear from his friends soon. He was so comfortable, he didn't want to move. Even though he was in pain and away from his ship, he hadn't felt this relaxed in a while. He let out a yawn and the bump on his head started throbbing again. Just five minutes wouldn't hurt, would it? And with that final thought, he let the darkness of unconsciousness swallow him up again.

* * *

Leonard McCoy thought it was the "logical" thing to let Spock lead the way, seeing as he was a much better tracker than himself. He was a doctor, not a damn hunter. Even though he had lost count of the amount of times he had been sent on a giant goose chase for his friend.

An hour had almost passed and his feet ached. Spock walked much faster than him. "Hold up Spock" McCoy leant against one of the giant tree trunks and wiped his sweaty brow with his sleeve. Spock turned to McCoy and raised an eyebrow and placed his hands behind his back. "I do not see how leaning against trees will help us locate the Captain, Doctor. However, I will attempt to make contact with the ship." He pulled his communicator off his belt and opened it.

McCoy slumped against the tree trunk to rest his feet. Usually, walking for an hour wouldn't have bothered him, if it had been at a manageable pace and he didn't have to concentrate so hard on not tripping on uplifted roots. The sun had started to set making it even harder to see without squinting his eyes.

"Spock to Enterprise, Spock to Enterprise, do you read me?"

He tried different channels but only got the same annoying sound of static. However, that didn't stop Spock trying to reach them.

McCoy stood back up on his tired feet. While Spock was engaged in making contact with the ship, he thought he would give this "tracking" thing a better go. He squinted his tired eyes together to try and get a better view of what was around them - nothing but thick trees and overgrown roots.

He can't have gone much further… McCoy walked over to a larger root and stood on top of it, hoping that a higher view would be a better one. He cupped his hands around his mouth and called out to his missing friend "Jim! Can you hear me? Jim!" No response.

Spock stood at the bottom of the root with his hands behind his back again.

"Communications have been compromised as suspected Doctor. I cannot make contact with the ship in our current situation."

McCoy looked down at Spock and raised his eyebrow, as if to give his "really?" look, the very same look he found himself giving Jim earlier in the transporter room. He looked back up one last time and something caught his eye. "Spock! Over there!" he pointed a little further north, where the ground started to drop. Spock started running, not even having to look at the floor to mind the roots, while McCoy carefully climbed down and moved towards Spock at a slower pace.

Spock stopped in his tracks and bent down, examining the floor. When McCoy had finally caught up he looked up to him, after examining the floor for the slightest indentation in a leaf or the dirt, "the Captain was indeed here." He stood up and continued walking forward, down the slight decline of the hill. McCoy was sure he had spotted something around here from the raised root he had just been on. As Spock continued moving forwards, he waited and looked around with his strained eyes. Suddenly, he spotted it.

McCoy went over to the perfectly placed rock and knelt next to it, "Spock over here!" he called out to the First Officer. "Do you see what I see?" he said pointing to the dark red patch on the rock.

"Yes, Doctor" Spock reached forward with his outstretched hand to touch the red substance, but he stopped himself and pulled his tricorder out, running it over the red patch. "Blood, containing some properties the scanner cannot determine."

They both knew exactly what that meant. McCoy stood up like a rocket and started looking around in hope to find his friend. "Its Jim, it has to be Jim's new super blood!"

"It is logical to say that the captain could have tripped and fallen on this rock, injuring himself in some way. However Doctor, this does not explain why the Captain isn't here."

McCoy really wasn't listening to Spock. The fact they had found a rock with Jim's blood on was enough to send him into 'CMO mode'. They needed to find Jim and they needed to find him quickly. An open wound meant dirt, disease, infection and most likely allergic reactions for his friend.

They started heading down the incline. "It could be possible that the Captain may have tripped and rolled down towards that stream's bank". McCoy looked at the back of Spock's head, who was leading again, still not really listening to him. Right now he didn't care how the Captain got hurt, he just needed to find him.

They reached the bank of a stream and saw a patch of squashed down bushes and leaves.

McCoy moved closer to the river bank and found a Starfleet issue black boot on the floor. "Jim's, it has to be" he said to Spock as he picked the boot up off the floor.

"I agree Doctor. However the Captain is not here now."

They had a clear view of the stream bank and there was nothing except for just an imprint on the bank where Jim had once been. "So where is he now?" McCoy could feel his heart beating and the hairs at the back of his neck rising. This can't be good.

* * *

 _ **To Be Continued...**_


	3. Chapter 3

**_Authors Note - Thank you for all your views and reads! I hope this chapter makes you all want to continue reading more. I am really enjoying writing this now and it would be amazing if you could let me know what you think too! Reviews and private messages are very very welcome and encourage me to continue with this story more and more. Your all amazing. Thank you._**

* * *

 **Chapter Three**

Bones started pacing up and down on the gentle stream's bank, the moist ground sinking with each step he took. Jim was clearly hurt and he needed his CMO, his friend. Spock was attempting to reach the Enterprise with his communicator again.

"Spock to Enterprise, do you read me?" his voice was slightly louder than normal. He also attempted to speak clearer as the static finally eased up and a familiar voice answered back to him.

"Scott here, reading you now Mr Spock. Are you alright? It's been two hours past your check-in time. Do you need us to beam down search parties?"

McCoy's ears pricked up hearing the Scotsman's voice. Well, at least that was a positive and they finally had the ship back in contact.

"Negative Mr Scott. The planet is getting darker and we will be unable to brief them before complete darkness. Run a deep planetary scan searching for all life forms. I shall attempt to contact you in one hour for your results, Spock out."

Spock slammed his communicator shut and attached it back to his belt. McCoy couldn't help but look concerned. Did he say complete darkness? That damn green blooded hobgoblin could have warned me about that. As if he wasn't already exhausted from being wary of tripping on roots or touching plants he knew nothing about, he was now expected to do the same in complete darkness?

"Complete darkness?" he questioned Spock. He just needed to hear that again.

"Yes Doctor, when the sun sets, the moonlight will be blocked out from the surrounding trees. We have exactly 2.23 hours before the sun goes down completely."

"Well thank the stars for a slow sunset then" McCoy couldn't help but let loose a slight grin to his Vulcan friend.

Spock placed his hands behind his back again and raised an eyebrow "Forgive me Doctor, but what would showing the stars gratitude have to do with how fast the planet spins?"

"Don't worry about it Spock. How long do we have to find the Captain? Two hours? So let's get going". McCoy started walking north, up the stream but Spock didn't move. "Doctor, perhaps we should travel down the stream, as it would give us a 6.4% increased chance of finding the Captain."

McCoy tutted as he stopped in his tracks and turned to face him "Oh yeah? And what makes you think that?" He should have known better than to argue with a Vulcan yet he just couldn't help himself. Maybe the heat was getting to him. Even though it was much cooler than before, it was still too hot for his liking.

"Doctor, as you can see below our feet, there are bare footprints on the floor pointing south of the stream. I suggest we follow them to find the Captain."

McCoy looked down at his feet and saw half a footprint poking out from under a leaf. He picked up the huge leaf and dropped it into the stream where it floated peacefully. "Well would you look at that? Footprints!"

He dropped to his knees to get a better view of the prints left in the dirt – five-toed prints and one long human-like foot shape. He felt a wave of relief, "It could be Jim." Knowing Jim was possibly up and walking around allowed McCoy to let go of some of the stress building up inside of him. At least he was only going to have to deal with a minor concussion.

"Unlikely, Doctor. If you inspect the rest of the foot shapes, you will see the next print looks exactly the same. We only found one of the Captain's boots. It is also not logical for the Captain to be covering his tracks when he knows people would be searching for him."

And just like that McCoy stiffened up, all that realised stress was back in a second.

"The scanners showed no other life forms other than animals though Mr Spock?"

"Indeed, however, due to the nature of the planet's core, it is possible for the scan results to have been tampered with"

Damn green blooded hobgoblin, we could be dealing with anything now. Damn Captain Adventure and his need to know the whole universe and its friend. He shot back up to his feet uncovering the trail, "Well then, Mr Spock, seeing as you are much better at tracking than I am, after you" and he sarcastically motioned Spock to go in front of him by waving his arms to his side and bowing for him. 

* * *

Jim lay at the side of the bank, sleeping the pain of his foot away. Sleeping was the only way to stop the constant throb in his head. He sank deeper and deeper into an unconscious sleep forgetting the blind bear like creature across the stream, who had probably finished his supper by now and moved on. He heard another rustle in the bushes and just assumed the bear was coming back for seconds. Suddenly he felt a sharp pinch in his neck taking him by surprise. He sat up so quickly he didn't even have time to open his eyes. "Damn it Bones! You could… at least… war…warn… mmm…"

He attempted to peel his eyes open, expecting to see the blue uniform of Dr McCoy, but he saw nothing but the bush the bear had been grazing on before he had slept. His eyesight went blurred and he collapsed onto his back again as his whole body went limp. He fought his hardest to keep his eyes open, moving them from tree to tree, finding something to focus his attention on. He was paralyzed completely and unable to move.

A blurred human-like shape looked over him and spat in his face. He couldn't even feel the wetness on his face. The blurred figure raised his foot over Jim's face and kicked down hard. Jim heard a loud crack from his face and tried to scream out in pain but no sound left his mouth. He wasn't even sure if his mouth had moved.

"Hummanius Pig" – was the last thing he heard before the pain took over and he sank deeper and deeper into the peaceful darkness of unconsciousness again. 

* * *

McCoy kept close behind Spock this time. With not as many roots on the bank to fight with, it was much easier to keep up. Spock was brushing the leaves to the side as they uncovered more and more footprints. McCoy had guessed there were at least three sets of prints, however none were boot-shaped. He just hoped whoever's footprints they were following, they were helping Jim. However with the Captain's past record of meeting different species, he didn't hold out much hope.

He started thinking back to the start of his shift, how he joked with Nurse Chapel about coming back to sickbay on his own. As he had been packing his hypos, he had known deep down that it wouldn't be a straight forward mission. However, he wished that it was as simple as Jim having an allergic reaction. That way he could just have his shot and beam back aboard. Knowing Nurse Chapel she would have the private room at the back all set up and ready for Jim the second she was informed he was missing. Trusty Nurse Chapel, he thought to himself smiling, she would make a fine doctor one day.

His trail of happy peaceful days in sickbay was quickly interrupted as he walked straight into Spock's back. "God's sake man! What's wrong with you stopping now?!" he shouted, clearly frustrated as he stepped away from Spock and looked around Spock to see what he was staring at.

He could feel the colour drain out of his face and turn white. "What the fuck is that?!"

The bear-like creature was facing them, with its thick black fur standing on end and showing its two rows of needle-like teeth.

Spock, who was still frozen on his spot, was calm and collected "I believe Doctor, that the correct name of the species is a Breeart, a descendant of Earth's black bear."

McCoy stepped next to Spock, "Well what are you waiting for? Shoot the damn thing!"

As both McCoy and Spock slowly started to reach for their phaser they were interrupted by distant screams. McCoy instantly turned to find the source of the screaming, his damn "CMO mode" was already in full swing knowing Jim needed help.

The Breeart was already charging towards him before he had the chance to turn back around. Even Spock was too slow to react to its lighting speed. The bear lifted its large powerful paw and swiped at McCoy's arm, hard enough to knock him out.

Spock raised his phaser to fire before it swung at him too, but the screams were closer now, "Stop! No, don't! Please don't hurt her!" a sweet sounding young blonde girl was standing straight behind Spock. "Don't move! She won't hurt you, just don't move"

Spock froze on the spot and even slowed his breathing pattern. The creature stepped back and sniffed, its fur slowly drooped and it closed its mouth. It turned around and slowly walked away. As soon as he deemed it safe to move again he dropped next to his unconscious friend on the floor. The young girl dropped next to him, "she was only protecting her babies hidden in tree trunks close by and she could sense your friend's sharp movements."

Spock said nothing to the girl who had just saved them, while he took the tricorder off his shoulders and waved it over McCoy, reading the results. "Perhaps. However if it wasn't for your calling out, then the doctor here wouldn't have turned to find you and would not be in his current state."

The young girl looked at a limp McCoy before looking back at Spock, "that's a funny way of saying thank you, but okay. My name is Isabella. Who are you? How did you find us?" she started to sound agitated, "you don't look like a Yamanian…" She stood up and stepped back, not knowing what to expect from these strangers.

Spock looked at the girl, getting a much better look at her now as they were safe. She was a dainty looking thing; skinny with long matted blonde hair down her mid-back, covered in filth but also barefooted. She wore a long white dress, which was covered in dirt and ripped in places.

"That is because I am not. I am Spock, First Officer of the starship, Enterprise. Now if you please, our ship doctor needs help, however he is much more qualified than I am in that specific area."

The girl looked puzzled. She had never seen a man with such funny looking ears before.

"If you're not Yamanian, then what are you?"

Spock, who was back to tending to McCoy's already bruising arm by splinting it using a large straight root he had found nearby and ripping a large leaf to tie it, "I am a Vulcan. The Doctor here is human."

The girl looked even more puzzled. She had never seen anyone look so similar to herself before. She felt a wave of compassion for the man on the floor and she wanted to learn more about him. "Our hide out is a short walk from here. If you bring your friend then my grandpa could help him. It's getting very close to darkness. You need to be out of the forest when that happens."

Spock stood and nodded. He had just met the girl, however she knew a lot more about the planet than he did and if it meant the doctor could get the medical attention he needed, then helping Jim would be a lot easier. He picked McCoy up and carried him in his arms with ease, keeping his injured arm as still as possible. "This way Spock" the girl shouted as she ran up the hill surrounding the river bank.

* * *

 _ **To Be Continued...**_


	4. Chapter 4

**Authors Note:** Thank you for more lovely reviews and messages, your all amazing! I really enjoyed writing this chapter, so I hope you enjoy reading it!  
as always, please feel free to review or comment! Your all my inspiration to continue this.

* * *

 **Chapter Four**

Jim felt his whole body tingling and he lay flat on his back. It was so cold. He scrunched his eyes shut tighter before opening them as the dark loneliness of unconsciousness released him. His vision was still slightly blurred making it harder for him to focus on anything. He groaned hard and attempted to sit up to get a better view of his surroundings but he soon failed when he realised he was tied down with a green braided type of rope. He wiggled on his back to try and get anything loose but failed; his hands, forearms, thighs, calves and torso were all strapped down making escape impossible. Panic started setting in, causing him to breathe heavier and harder, he just despised being restrained. _Where the fuck am I? Sick bay?!_

"Yes commander, the prisoner has awoken."

 _Prisoner? Well Bones has really outdone himself with his new bedside manner now._

"B... Bones…?" he gathered as much energy as he could to drag that weak call for his friend out his mouth. _What the fuck was that?_ _What fucked up drug has he got me on now?!_

He scrunched his eyes, closing them tightly before opening them again. He blinked hard a couple of times as the motion managed to clear his sight better.

"Who is this Bones you speak of?" he heard coming from his right. His head flopped weakly towards the unfamiliar voice in a desperate attempt to see who he was talking about.

His vision started focusing better. _Oh shit. This isn't sick bay._

His eyes opened wider as they focused on a man he didn't recognise. He was tall and physically fit. He wore a ripped black sleeveless vest and Jim swallowed hard after seeing the size of his arms. The man moved closer to him as Jim lay powerless. He could now see clearly, his dark eyes staring back into his.

"Well?" the stranger wanted an answer. "Who is this Bones? Another spy? If you don't tell me I'll force it out of you!"

Jim looked up and down at the man. He knew better than to say anything to make the matter worse but just couldn't help himself, "I think it's me who should be asking the questions around here, I mean, what the fuck was that drug?! Is that how you greet all your visitors? By drugging them?!"

Jim was actually surprised by how he managed to speak full sentences already, considering just five minutes ago he was struggling to say just one word. Whatever the drug was, it must have been out his system by now. He moved his head around the room, trying to get a better view of where he was, he managed to lift his head up and saw a delightful dark blood stain on his standard Starfleet issue black undershirt. Great, even more blood for Bones to moan about. His eyes moved down to his bare right foot. Luckily, his gold uniform was still holding it in place.

He was soon distracted off of his ankle and onto the room. He couldn't see much as darkness covered them. The only light source was an ancient looking oil lamp. The walls were made of mud and pieces of scrap metal were lying all over the small room.

"Look, you need help. I can help you! Just tell me who you are, what happened here?!"

The stranger stepped back and raised one side of his mouth as he frowned.

"We do not need help from a Hummanius pig like you!" he boomed with a deep laugh that echoed throughout the room. He walked over to a pile of old tools which were rusted and covered in filth. "I can destroy you."

Jim gulped down hard. "Wait!" he called out, his body starting to throb from his earlier injuries as he squirmed, "just let me…" he shifted his eyes to his body, trying to see how he could attempt to free himself.

The stranger turned back around with a gas canister and an oxygen mask that looked like it came from the 20th century. "Relax… Captain" he said as he placed the mask over Jim's nose and mouth. He turned the gas on and Jim held his breath as long as possible, not knowing what was about to be pushed into his lungs.

 _Wait…Captain?_

Jim couldn't hold his breath any longer and he had no choice but to start breathing the unknown gas into his lungs. His body shuddered as his eyes rolled back into his skull.

"Yes commander, I am dealing with the captain now…."  
Jim focused on his hearing as he fought against the gas. He had no idea who the stranger was talking to but he hoped it was going to work in his favour.

"No... Sir… yes, but… ok. Yes commander"

The mask was removed from his face but it was too late. The welcoming darkness brushed over him and Jim blacked out once again. 

* * *

Spock had no trouble keeping up with Isabella as she led him deeper into the darkening forest; even with a passed out Doctor McCoy bundled in his arms.

Isabella turned around to face the Vulcan, "Not much longer now" she beamed as she ducked under low hanging branches and stepped over large roots.

After five miles they reached a small cave, Spock stopped and looked around him at the shiny mountains made of metal. "Fascinating" he said to Isabella, who was now standing next to him with a slight pant in her breath. "They are beautiful aren't they? These mountains and caves are where we Hummanius like to hide from the nasty Yamanian." She scrunched her face up like a young child trying a new vegetable for the first time. "Come, through here, grandpa will be able to help your friend." She led him to the largest hole in the mountain while Spock followed her, examining the walls of the cave.

They slowly walked to the centre of the cave. A basic camp fire was lit and burning brightly, causing the walls to shine and sparkle. "Grandpa!" Isabella screeched as she ran towards an elderly man sitting on the floor, with a small group of children at his feet. She wrapped her arms around her grandpa and embraced him in a hug. He wrapped one of his arms back around her and patted her back.

"Well it's good to see you too hunny!" he giggled. "But Bells, remember, the old knees aren't as good as they used to be!"

Isabella jumped up off her grandfather's lap "I'm sorry grandpa." She turned and pointed to Spock, who stood silently with his friend still asleep in his arms. "I found these two in the forest. They were about to shoot a mother Breeart, but I stopped them."

The older man attempted to get to his feet himself but Isabella was instantly at his side as she saw his struggle and helped him to his feet. He smiled back at her with gratitude. He used a giant thick root as a walking stick and walked over to where Spock was standing. He inspected Spock up and down and poked McCoy with his root walking stick. "Not from around here are you?" Spock responded to his pokes by stepping back, "You are quite correct sir."

Isabella ran back to the old man's side, "Grandpa, be nice! They need our help. Their captain is missing and his friend is hurt. The Breeart swiped him to the ground."

"I see. Well, best get Nurse Harriet over here then. Excuse my rudeness, my name is Charlie. Please, bring your friend over here to rest while we get our nurse to tend to him."

Charlie led them to a smaller opening where the cave split. There seemed to be many little passageways, like an ants' nest. There were piles of animal skin and fur on the floor. Spock lowered McCoy down onto the soft animal furs and covered him with a separate skin. "I believe he is recovering from deep shock. I must keep him warm."

Charlie stood over Spock with both hands resting on his walking root. "He's a human, so what are you?" Spock turned and stood up facing the elderly man. He could see from his wrinkled face and extra skin that Charlie was malnourished. "I am Vulcan." But before he could continue, he was interrupted by Isabella and middle aged woman following her. Isabella stood next to Spock and looked up at him, "This is Nurse Harriet. She can help your friend."

Spock bowed his head to her, "I must contact our ship." He spun on his heel and exited to the main section of the cave. Charlie called out to him, "Stop, you must not leave the cave now. Nightfall has set in and you'll freeze out there!" Spock froze in his tracks. It would not be logical to risk his own life with the Doctor and his Captain incapacitated at the moment. "Very well. I shall attempt to contact them in here."

Charlie let out a gentle grin, "Good luck! Your communicator won't work in here. You'll have to wait until sunrise. Please, sit, rest." He motioned Spock to sit around the fire with him, but he kept on standing. "I will tell you everything you need to know. Bells tells me your Captain is missing? I hope for your Captain that the Yamanian don't have him." Charlie slowly lowered his old achy body down and sat by the fire. Spock raised his eyebrow, intrigued. "Very well." Spock sat opposite him and crossed his legs. "That's the spirit!" Charlie grinned.

"Now could you inform me of how you got here?" Spock wanted answers and he knew Charlie was the man who could give them to him. 

* * *

Jim started to open his eyes slowly. It was dark and it was cold again. He let out a harsh cough, which resulted in a coughing fit. His head was hanging low, so his chin touched his chest and a stream of dribble left his dry mouth.

He managed to get enough energy built up in his weak body to lift his head. He wasn't in the same room anymore. _Well, fuck. Where the crap am I now?_ His whole body ached and pulsed in pain. He attempted to breathe through his crushed nose but his airway was restricted, resulting in a whistle leaving his nose. _Urgh, Bones is actually going to kill me, bring me back to life and then kill me again, when he sees me._

His arms were hanging above his head. He tried to move them down but was unlucky. He started coughing more, bringing up all sorts of crap from his lungs and then spitting it to the floor. Each cough jerked his body and made it scream out in pain. He looked up and saw his wrists chained to a brick wall. _Really? Chained to a damn wall now? When will I get a break?_

He looked around the brick walls and came across a closed wooden door opposite him.

 _A dungeon? Okay… great._

Jim let out a groan. He was being made to stand limply on his restricted ankle. He attempted to shift all his weight onto one leg but it was just as uncomfortable. He suddenly heard a click from the old style wooden door and a jangle of keys. The voices behind the door were muffled and too difficult to hear. The door slowly swung open and two men stepped in. One of them was the man he saw earlier with the huge arms. The other man was even taller with even bigger arms. The light from where they entered shone off his bald head and he had an evil scowl on his face. Jim stared back into his evil dark eyes while panting after his coughing fit.

"I am Jedidiah, leader of the Yamanian." He stepped forward, he was wearing a long black leather jacket and black leather gloves and Jim could hear the clack on the brick floor from his shoes. Jedidiah walked closer to Jim and waved his left arm in front of the man Jim had previously seen. He clenched his fit "This is my second in command, Thorr."

Thorr stood solid and let out a growl at Jim when he glanced over quickly.  
"I must say Captain, you are quite a catch."

Jim raised his head, still panting heavily, "Captain?"

Jedidiah moved at lightning speed in front of him and grabbed a fistful of Jim's golden hair, forcing his head back onto the wall. Jim let out a gasp of pain and clenched his teeth.

"Don't play dumb with me! We have your com, we know you're a Captain and somebody is with you."

Jim just panted without acknowledging him. Jedidiah tightened his grip on his hair. Jim could hear the tightening of his leather glove in his ear and let out a groan.

"Now, be a good little prisoner and wait here."

He loosened his grip and spun on his heel, marching out of the room, "Thorr, come."

Thorr let out another growl at Jim, baring his teeth like a crazed animal and left with his leader. Jim heard the door click as they looked the door.

 _What the fuck just happened?!_

* * *

 _ **To Be Continued...**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**Authors Note:**_ _first of all, my apologies for not posting this yesterday! I have been busy preparing for job interviews and I had a work trial yesterday. Pleased to say I got the job! So my updates will start to be during the day or Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. I'll be working nights so I won't be able to post every day however I am not giving up on this story!  
_ _I've had some lovely positive reviews and I thank you all for those._ _I take all reviews in and act on them, for example; this has been proof read more than once! ;)  
_ _I am also aware of my over use of commas and plan to go through the past chapters again and fix the mistakes. I'd love it if a beta was interested!_

 _Please keep reviewing and pming me, especially if you have any questions regarding this chapter, I hope it isn't too complicated to follow! (What with 3 different things happening at once!)  
_ _Thanks again!  
_

* * *

 **Chapter Five**

Charlie looked deep into the fire. He looked as if he was meditating as the fire crackled. He took a deep breath and began to speak to Spock.

"It was 279 days ago." He paused and licked his lips. His actions caught Spock's attention, although he refrained for interrupting him. He was sitting straight backed, watching the reflection of the crackling fire in Charlie's eyes.

"We are a peaceful race, we do not believe in violence of any kind. That is how our ancestors taught us." His eyes started to shine with water as his head filled with the painful memories. He took a deep breath as he took his eyes off the fire. "And then the Yamanian came." Charlie's face was still, the water from his old tired eyes disappeared as he spoke of his enemy.

Spock raised an eyebrow "The Yamanian have been extinct for 205 years." He had not been able to research about the Yamanian race for that very reason.

Charlie's head dropped as he shook it.

"That's what they want you to think. They came into our village early after the sun rose, setting fire to our homes and killing many of our people. Nurse Harriet, the children and I were out fetching water and when we returned… it was too late. I lost my daughter and my wife. The other children are now orphaned. I must protect them. They are the future of the Hummanius race."

Spock raised his eyebrow once again and tilted his head to the side. "It is possible for them to have counterfeited their own racial extinction, however it is not logical."

"Whoever said that the Yamanian are logical?" Charlie asked as he stared into Spock's dark eyes. "They are a race that wants to remain hidden, build their force up, then strike at the weak. That is why we hide up here in the mountains. The metal protects us from all tracking and scanners. They want to mine this metal, which is why they are here. It will protect them from enemies and keep them hidden."

There was silence. Charlie started to wipe his eyes as the fire spat and crackled.

"Perhaps it is time I rested." Spock said. The emotion Charlie showed was not logical to him. He stood and walked back to where Doctor McCoy was being tended to. The echoes of Charlie's sobs bounced off the walls as he left. 

* * *

Jim was attempting to sleep his exhaustion off, but when you are chained to a brick wall with your arms in the air, it proves extremely difficult. His whole body ached and screamed out for a break. He lost all feeling in his hands a while back, something he wished his head would do.

He was rudely awoken by a bucket of cold water being thrown at him. The resulting shock made his whole body jerk, causing more agonising pain for his tired and worn self.

"Do you mind?!" he spat the water onto the floor, however he instantly regretted it. His dry mouth was screaming for a drop of water to hit the back of his throat.

"You should be grateful. The commander is a most gracious host" Thorr growled back at him. "If it was up to me, I would have killed you slowly and watched the pain, scream in your eyes."

Jim's eyes opened widely, "Well in that case, I'm glad you're not the commander."

Thorr spat at Jim's feet "Watch your mouth, scum." He threatened as he turned and left the room.

Jim looked around his cell. It was much lighter now and his wake up call had temporally soothed some of the aches. His foot was now agonising and Jim was trying his hardest to lean against the wall he was chained to in a feeble attempt to keep the weight off of it. He let out a sigh and wondered about his ship and crew. With any luck they've left orbit by now but something tells me I'm wrong…

His eyes caught sight of a barred window, leaving a beam of sunlight to come in.

Urgh, give it a few hours and that's going to hit. With any luck another shower will be in order by then. 

* * *

"Spock, look! Look! Spock!" Isabella called, interrupting his silent meditation. "Look! Your friend! He's waking up!"

Spock moved closer and leaned over his doctor friend. McCoy rocked his head from side to side as he slowly peeled his eyes open.

"Jim… go find Jim… don't … don't worry about me." McCoy whispered as he shut his eyes back again.

Spock whipped his tricorder out and ran it over McCoy, "Doctor, you must rest longer in order to recover. You are still in shock."

"Your friend is right" Nurse Harriet said gently, as she placed her warm soft hand onto McCoy's. She had the natural soothing voice of a nurse which was welcoming to McCoy's ears. "Just a couple more hours won't hurt."

McCoy opened his eyes again, in an attempt to see who was speaking to him, however his eyes failed him. He was sent back into a peaceful sleep.

"Why is he still sleeping Nurse Harri?" Isabella was confused. She had not seen a man sleep for so long, even with a Breeart swipe.

Nurse Harriet smiled back at the young girl with her most beautiful smile, "He is exhausted. He must rest. He will be able to get up in a little while. Why don't you go and find your brother? The sun must have risen again by now. Perhaps you both could find me some soothing root?"

Isabella pouted and gave the nurse her biggest twinkling eyes in an attempt to let her stay, but this didn't work on the well-trained nurse.

"Don't go giving me that look Isabella! Go on, please. You will be helping me if you do."

Isabella dropped her look and stuck her tongue out playfully at the nurse.

"But Adam is so slow! Do I have to take him?"

Spock was watching the conversation closely and interrupted, "Perhaps I could accompany the children."

Nurse Harriet smiled and Isabella let out a cheer which echoed in the cave. She grabbed Spock's hand and led him out of the cave. "Adam is this way!" she cheered to him.

Spock followed the two children out into the forest they knew so well. The sun was high. The temperature was hot, although it did not affect the children or him as they were used to the warmth.

Isabella's brother, Adam, was a lot shorter than her. He couldn't have been much older than five years. He had beautiful big brown eyes that glowed in the sun and mousey blonde hair that reminded Spock of the Captain's.

"I don't get his ears. I mean, why are they so… pointy?" Adam whispered to his sister as they led the way, although this whispering was no match for Spock's Vulcan hearing.

"Shh… Adam! That's rude. I told you, he is a Vulcan." Isabella whispered back to her brother.

"What's a Vulcan?" Adam said, forgetting about his whispering.

Isabella thought hard. She liked to teach her brother but teaching him about something not even she knew anything about would be hard. "A Vulcan... is… well look! He's a Vulcan. That's what a Vulcan is. Like a Hummanius! But with pointy ears and angry eyebrows!"

Spock just listened as the children spoke about him. He was fascinated in the child's attempt to lie to her brother in order to appear knowledgeable.

He whipped his communicator off his belt as they moved further away from the mountains. "Spock to Enterprise, do you read me?" there was a lot of static before he finally heard from the ship.

"Scott here, are you okay? It's been some time since we heard from you. Have you found the Captain?"

"Negative, Mr Scott. Doctor McCoy is currently in deep shock but will make a full recovery. We have found the source of the static interruptions. It appears the mountains here have a heavy metal infused in them. I have a sample to beam aboard at the following coordinates."

"I'll have to stop you there laddie. We cannot seem to beam anything up or down. Those plant samples that you brought up yesterday, before you searched for the Captain, let out a harmful radiation as they rematerialized. It has damaged all the transporter circuits badly. I can have it fixed in twenty-four hours if I can isolate the radiation."

"I shall attempt to contact you back then. Destroy the plants before the radiation spreads further. Meanwhile, we shall attempt to find the Captain and be ready for beam up. Spock out."

The two children blinked in sync as they watched Spock attach his communicator back to his belt. They had never seen such technology used before.

Spock did not register their shocked looks,

"Perhaps you could show me the roots now?" 

* * *

The sunlight beamed hard onto Jim and sweat dripped down his face. He was panting heavily, his mouth was drier than a desert and screamed out for water. He had lost consciousness more than once and his face was bright red from sun burn.

The familiar sound of keys jangled near the door and it swung open. Three Yamanian entered with Thorr leading them in but none of them spoke. Jim was quite pleased about that as he had no energy to come up with a sarcastic comment to reply back to the people torturing him. The guards unlocked the shackles around his wrists and he collapsed in a heap onto floor, too weak to move.

"Take him." Thorr snarled, pointing to the panting mess on the floor.

Two of the guards grabbed his weak arms and started to drag him out of the room.

"Wait!" Thorr ordered. "Turn him."

The guards turned around so Jim was facing the brute. "He must not see anything" he spoke with an evil stare. Thorr clenched his fist and grabbed a fistful of Jim's sweaty golden locks.

Jim was too weak to even open his eyes fully, however the pain of his hair being pulled made him let out a groan. He was face to face with Thorr, swollen and pained.

"Sweet dreams princess." He snarled.

Thorr swung his arm around, punching Jim across the face.

Darkness instantly surrounded him, he felt as if he was floating, helpless and weak. He accepted the silence of unconsciousness with gratitude. Finally, a chance to rest. 

* * *

When Spock and the children returned with the herbs required for the nurse, Doctor McCoy was already sitting up on the animals' skins. The colour had returned to his face and he looked much better. His arm had been wrapped in a green leaf tightly by Nurse Harriet. However, it didn't stop him drinking the water that was passed to him.

"Doctor, how do you feel?" Spock said as he entered the small part of the mountain.

"I feel fine now, thanks to Nurse Harriet. She did a great job." He winked at the nurse who was sitting next to him and she blushed in reply. It had been a while since she had received any compliments from a man.

"Do you feel well enough to find the Captain? We must resume our search. I believe the Yamanian may have captured him." Spock said, without pausing for a breath. Clearly, his human side was starting to show as he pined for his friend.

Before McCoy could open his mouth, he was stopped by Isabella, "The Yamanian? I know where their camp is. Grandpa said I'm not allowed to go there though."

Spock turned and spoke to Isabella, "Perhaps you would be able to show us?"

The young girl stepped back and displayed a worried face. However, Spock failed to notice her emotion.

"Grandpa made me promise." She whimpered, hiding behind Nurse Harriet.

"Yes. I did." Charlie made an appearance at the entrance of the section of the cave. "I forbid my granddaughter to go anywhere near those monsters. It is not safe. However, as you have already helped my people by fetching these soothing roots, I shall return the gratitude. I will show you their camp but you must promise, if you are captured not to speak of our whereabouts."

"Grandpa! No!" Isabella ran out from behind Nurse Harriet and wrapped her arms around her grandfather tightly.

"Its fine Bells, I'll be back before you know it. Nurse Harriet will look after you and your brother." He winked at her playfully and she smiled back with her eyes now watering with tears.

"We must leave now though, before darkness starts to fall again."

McCoy was already stumbling to his feet and grabbing his tricorder. The thought of finally being able to find Jim was all he needed to hear.

"Let's go already!" 

* * *

_**To Be Continued...**_


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

Jim's fragile beaten body was dragged for miles through the thick forest, deeper than he had travelled before. The two guards weren't supporting him well, as they pulled at his arms leaving his feet to make two tracks in the dirt. Jedidiah led the way and Thorr stayed close to him, like a dog following its master.

"I do not see why we didn't just kill him commander. He is a spy." Thorr whispered to his leader, so the guards dragging Jims lifeless body didn't hear him.

Jedidiah continued to march through the forest without a problem, his strong powerful arms beating the overgrown roots and leaves out of his way without an issue. He smirked at his second in command, "This is exactly why I lead. He is a Captain. His ship is up there! We can take it and the whole crew for ourselves. This is the exact opportunity we've been waiting for. We can install the shields and have the technology to be able to hide from our enemies until the time is right to strike."

Thorr clenched his fists tightly so that his leather gloves creaked. He hated that his commander didn't trust him to lead. "How do you know that his crew will assist us?" he said through clenched teeth, his fists getting tighter.

"Because if they don't, not only will they see their captain die a slow and painful death, but they will also suffer too." Jedidiah's glare was pure evil as he continued to march through the forest.

Thorr was too full of rage to reply. Instead he took his pent up anger out on a passing tree, punching it so hard that it left a dent in the thick trunk.

They soon came to an opening in the forest, much like the one the landing party beamed down to. This one was slightly different though, the floor was stained in red blood patches. There were remains of burnt huts and the stench was so powerful it was enough to make any normal person throw up. Jedidiah stood in the centre, standing next to a large tree branch sticking out from the ground.

"Tie him to that branch, tightly. We can't let him escape us now." He hissed.

Thorr let out a smirk as the guards tied Jim's body to the branch. It was clear that Jim wasn't awake enough to stand yet, so he was put into a sitting position with his legs laid out in front of him but tied tightly together.

"Thorr!" Jedidiah shouted and clicked his fingers to grab his attention quicker. "Wake him" he ordered.

Thorr nodded to his commander and grabbed a bucket of cold water from the stream that trickled next to the opening. He threw it over Jim which made his body shudder from the shock.

Jim lifted his head slowly and blinked a few times to recover his eyesight. The second he inhaled he began to cough, spitting the gunk from his lungs out onto the floor. When he finally caught his breath he looked up, squinting due to the sun's brightness. His dry lips parted as it was too painful to attempt to breathe through his nose.

"Nice of you to finally join us, Captain." Jedidiah stood over Jim, showing his authority. He threw Jim's communicator down to his feet. "Now, we are going to play a little game." 

* * *

Spock and McCoy followed the older man slowly through the forest. He struggled to move too fast and falling would be crucial for him. Suddenly, he came to a halt. "It's not much further. Keep going north until you reach the river stream, and then stay low. They may be tracking, you won't miss them. I am returning to the safety of our mountain. If you find your captain, please do not come back to rescue us. We are a peaceful and proud race. We must fight our own fight. The guilt that would overcome us if you were to help and things go wrong isn't worth living with. Good luck my friends." Charlie panted. He wouldn't let McCoy protest to his request as he turned and slowly left for his hideout.

"Surely we aren't just going to leave them here with those monsters?" McCoy asked Spock, even though he knew he wasn't going to like the Vulcan's reply.

"Our prime directive is to find the Captain. Then we must beam aboard, notify Starfleet command and await new orders, Doctor."

Green-blooded hobgoblin.

As they trekked slowly through the route Charlie had told them, McCoy couldn't help but think of Isabella, Adam and Nurse Harriet. There must be something I can do to help them. But he was soon distracted by a crouching Spock. He instantly copied Spock and crouched to the floor behind him.

Spock was examining the floor. They were extremely close to the stream Charlie had told them of, but Spock had noticed a few prints on the floor. He moved some of the scattered leaves for a better look. "They have passed here." Spock spoke softly, remembering that they could be tracked easily.

McCoy noticed the two lines between the two sets of prints. His heart sank.

"Jim…" he reached out to touch the lines. His heart was screaming at him, telling him to get to his friend immediately. "He's not walking Spock. He needs me. He's missing a shoe. If I don't get to him soon and his foot is cut, it will get infected. Infection which can lead to blood poisoning and God knows what else is on this filthy planet."

They both rose to their feet slightly, attempting not to be seen by possible Yamanian.

Without speaking, Spock pointed to the same direction as the footprints. They stuck to the bushes and silently followed them. All sorts of nasty thoughts flooded McCoy's head as he thought of his friend.

 _Just hold on a little bit longer kid. I'm coming._

* * *

"N…n…no… I … Cant" every word Jim spoke was agony and every sentence he managed to put together resulting in him coughing so hard, he thought he would throw up. His black standard Starfleet undershirt was now covered in dried blood from his nose and vomit. He stank of sweat and vomit.

Jedidiah was now pacing in front of Jim, whose head was hanging low down so his chin touched his chest. "Captain, if you refuse, I will kill you." He smiled dangerously as he spoke to see if that would help change Jim's mind. "Hand over your ship to me and you shall live! If you don't, then you and any crew that refuse to join us, will be slaughtered. Slowly, painfully, miserably. It will not be a pleasant experience for any of you!"

Jim managed to pull enough energy to lift his head and spit at the commander's feet.

"Never." He managed to pull that out easily. He would rather die before anything happened to his ship and crew.

Jedidiah turned and walked over to Thorr and pulled him close to him. "Kill him." He whispered into his ear and then instantly pushed him away. Jedidiah began walking back to the Yamanian camp with the other two guards at his side. "And don't mess it up Thorr." He hissed as he left.

Thorr clenched his teeth and his fists again, before letting an almighty roar out and a punch to another tree trunk. How he despised being spoken to in such a manner – commander or not.

He paced in front of Jim, who was still between panting heavily and gasping for as much oxygen as he could between the coughing fits and vomiting. Jim didn't even have the strength left to raise his head.

Thorr grabbed a knife out from his waist and stood in front of Jim, still angry at about how his commanding officer had spoken to him.

Spock and McCoy had been watching the conversation, hidden in a bush that made the whole of McCoy's skin itch. The second he saw the state of Jim, his attention shifted. It took every single bit of strength that he had not to leap out of the itchy bush and stick some painkillers into Jim's neck. Luckily, Spock was holding him back.

Thorr didn't even realise that Spock and McCoy were watching, invisible from his sight. They had seen the whole thing and were still waiting for the precise moment. McCoy had hypos at the ready for Jim and just prayed that Scotty had fixed the problem Spock informed him of earlier.

Thorr started growling at Jim, as he stood in front of him, knife raised. "See you later princess" he winked to Jim, but before he could slash the knife across Jim's neck, he felt every single muscle seize. Thorr collapsed to the floor instantly, dropping the knife just next to Jim's bare ankle.

"You'll have to teach me that one day Spock." McCoy said as he darted next to Jim's side, waving his tricorder over him. Jim lifted his head and looked into McCoy's sweet tired eyes.

"Bones…" he whispered as his head flopped back down.

"Christ sake man! Look at the state of you!" McCoy said playfully when he saw the swollen bump on his forehead and blood stained under his nose. "You enjoy making my job difficult don't you?!"

Jim let out his first smile, in what felt like weeks, as Spock untied his arms. Jim flopped against Bones when he was set free. He began to cough as he attempted to laugh at his doctor's "friendly" bedside manner.

"Take it easy now. I'm going to give you something for the pain." McCoy explained to his Captain as the gentle hiss clicked into Jim's ear.

"Bones…" Jim coughed, but he couldn't speak any longer. He drifted off into a peaceful pain free dreamland.

"I gave him a mild sedative. We have to get him to sickbay now. I don't have enough supplies down here." McCoy explained to Spock, who was already attempting to contact the ship.

"Spock to Enterprise, we have the Captain and are awaiting beam up."

The few minutes of static felt like hours to McCoy as he watched his friend sleeping.

"Scott here, good to hear from you. We have just about fixed the radiation leaks on the transporter, but are yet to test it."

McCoy soon butted in and grabbed Spock's communicator. "Just do it Scotty, and have an emergency med team in the transporter room ready for us."

Spock turned to McCoy with a raised eyebrow, "Are you quite sure doctor? I calculate the risk of beaming aboard using an untested transporter as being 78% unsuccessful."

McCoy looked at Spock with a serious look. He knew the seriousness of Jim's injuries and risking his life was worth it to save his friend.

"Spock if I don't get him aboard the ship now, he will die. I can't let that happen."

"Then it is logical that I beam aboard first and you stay with the captain. You are the logical choice to stay with the captain and his injuries, if beam up fails." He spoke into his communicator to the Scotsman, "one to beam up Mr Scott."

Before McCoy could protest Spock had already started to dematerialise. He quickly whipped out his communicator and flipped it open, "McCoy to Enterprise, did Spock make it aboard?!"

The static caused because of the mountains infuriated him. After an agonising five-minute wait a familiar voice spoke to him.

"Scott to Doctor McCoy, are you and the Captain ready for beam up?"

"Scotty! Yes! Have that medical team ready, the Captain is in a bad way."

* * *

 _ **To Be Continued...**_

* * *

 _ **Authors Note:**_ _I really struggled to think of a decent way to get back to Jim, don't worry, I hope to throw in a few more twists so the Yamanian don't get away with beating poor old Kirk to a plup!_

 _I am still struggling a little with Spock so if any betas are about please feel free to message me :D_

 _Please please please chuck me a review if you can, I'd love to know how my story is coming across to you all. Thank You!_

 _Next update will probably be Sunday now as my new job starts tomorrow (thus the earlier update today!)_


	7. Chapter 7

_**Authors Note:**_

 _Thank you to all of you devoted and powerful readers, with your kind words and wonderful reviews you have completely inspired me to keep up with this story. I start work Monday night, so sadly the updates will more than likely be towards the end of the week, however if I manage to finish a chapter during the day I will post it!_

 _Still looking for a beta! So any mistakes are my own._

 _Please keep up with all the lovely positive reviews, they make my day.  
_ _I'm not going to lie – writing this chapter was a struggle as I have absolutely NO medical knowledge in this day and age, let alone the future!_

 _Special thank you to Cherie, who managed to motivate me to start this chapter. As I said, I was dreading it due to my lack of medical knowledge.  
_ _I hope you enjoy,_

 _Please keep reviewing!_

* * *

 **Chapter Seven**

McCoy welcomed the tingling from the transporter, along with the wave of transporter nausea he always seemed to suffer every time he was beamed up or down. The second he had finished his beam up, he was at his Captain's side. Jim lay on the transporter pad unaware he had even been beamed aboard his beloved ship.

Nurse Chapel let out a gasp the second she saw the state of the Captain's sunburnt, bruised and bloodied face. She had been called over with an emergency med bag and portable bed for her captain. She had seen him battered and bruised many times but it still didn't help with the shock of seeing someone she cared about in that mess.

"Help me move him to the bed Christine!" McCoy insisted while she just stood there. Soon her medical training kicked in and she scooped up Jim's legs, without touching his heavily bruised and filthy bare foot. McCoy grabbed under his arms and together they lifted him onto the bed.

Scotty and Spock stood behind the transporter controls helpless, as they watched Jim's lifeless body leave the transporter room.

"What happened down there, man?!" Even Scotty had a hard time thinking of how they had treated his Captain.

Spock tucked his hands behind his back and turned to Scotty "The Captain was abducted by a hostile threat on the planet's surface. I was not present with him therefore I cannot tell you what they did to him. I must return to the bridge and inform Starfleet at once."

Scotty, copying Spock, also tucked his hands behind his back. "Well, I don't know about you, but after seeing that, I could do with a large scotch." He said as Spock was leaving the room. 

* * *

McCoy stepped back and put his hands behind his head as he let out a deep breath. Seeing his friend laying on a biobed was never easy for him. They had finally got Jim stable but he was in a bad way.

"Well at least he's breathing. That's something." He said to Nurse Chapel, who was gently washing the grime off Jim's bare foot.

Nurse Chapel giggled as she saw his ripped golden uniform wrapped tightly round his ankle.

"Well, you can't say he didn't try to help."

"Just clean his foot please Nurse. I shall remove that once the area is clean. I hate to think of all the nasty space bugs I'm going to have to deal with now." McCoy moved back towards Jim, standing next to his head and reading the monitors above him. "He should start waking up soon." He looked back down at Jim's frail face and gently swept his hair back. "You like making my job difficult don't you kid?" 

* * *

It had taken him a good hour, however Jim was still breathing. He had to have a respirator permanently attached to his burnt face, but it was something. They had to sedate Jim again as they worked on his crushed nose, using the osteogenic stimulator to stimulate the natural repair of the broken bones. He was going to need another few rounds of this stimulator with this type of break but luckily for Bones the Captain could be easily tricked into sedation. In fact, thinking of the amount of pain he was probably in, Jim would probably welcome it.

McCoy had to use the old-fashioned ice treatment on the nasty bump on his temple. Obviously, he had tripped on something after all. He had pumped Jim full of so many painkillers and other drugs to stabilise his breathing and pain that he didn't want to risk any reactions. The cut on the shrinking bump had clotted and already began to scab over itself, so that was one less job for him to worry about.

He let out another sigh as he looked back up to the monitors again, next up was sorting out that foot and God knows what he's done to that. Seeing the monitor levels in average readings was a relief to McCoy. When they first got him onto the biobed there were so many alarms he had to silence it just to be able to concentrate. McCoy turned to check the IVs they had pumping into Jim. A standard antibiotic, he knew Jim wasn't allergic to, mixed with a bit of painkiller and an extra bag to try and rehydrate him, all hung beside him.

Nurse Chapel walked over to her boss and placed a caring hand on the bicep the Breeart had previously swiped at, causing McCoy to flinch "You should take a break. You look tired."

"I need to be here. I don't know if he's reacted to any of the wildlife down there yet."

Nurse Chapel tutted and placed her hands on her hips. "Doctor McCoy. You need a break. Go and take one or I'll call Doctor M'Benga over here to declare you emotionally unfit for duty."

McCoy groaned at her, it wasn't often that Nurse Chapel stood up to her boss, but if she did, it had to be for a damn good reason and deep down, McCoy knew this. "Fine! I'll go take a shower. I won't be longer than 30 minutes."

Nurse Chapel shook her head at him. "No, you'll be longer than that. You need at least a couple of hours sleep."

McCoy let out another groan. He knew she was right, his whole body ached and screamed for a break. "Fine. But I'll be napping in my office. Any change, I want to know, asleep or not."

"Very well, Doctor. Any change I'll be first in to make sure you know."

McCoy turned on his heel as he nodded to her. He head straight for his office which was luckily right next to Jim's bed. He never liked him being too far away from him.

"Oh and Doctor!" Nurse Chapel called to her boss, before he entered the peaceful sanctuary of his office. "Don't think I didn't notice that flinch. When you're awake M'Benga needs to see that arm." She smiled to him.

"Damn it Christine. I'm fine. I'm the doctor, not the patient." He waved his arm as he quickly entered his office and smiled to himself.

She would definitely make a good doctor one day. 

* * *

McCoy's office was small and stuffy, but that was nothing dropping the temperature wouldn't sort. He was far too tired to think of such things right now. He stared at the piles of PADDs on his desk and shrugged them off, darting towards the leather sofa placed in the corner of the room.

He lay on the sofa and placed his hands behind his head.

How am I supposed to nap at a time like this?!

So many thoughts swirled around in his mind as he closed his eyes, trying to relax.

He thought of Jim and all the pain he must have gone through, feeling alone and scared. Not that he would ever admit to feeling scared, well unless he was dying maybe.

Jim never showed a weakness, which was easily one of his better traits, although McCoy hated it. Jim would never ever come to sickbay voluntarily. The good side about it was that it made him want to leave sickbay, which meant he normally healed faster than the average patient.

McCoy started breathing deeply as he entered his dreamland.

He began dreaming of the nurse on the planet surface. Ahh, Nurse Harriet, now she was a sight for sore eyes… I wonder how she is now…

Thoughts of Isabella, Adam and Charlie also entered his head as he drifted into a deeper sleep.

Then the Breeart entered his mind and panic set in…

Seeing Spock swiped instead of him, Isabella calling out for his help, being too slow to reach her. His arm stinging and aching.

"McCoy…" he heard in his sleep from the young girl.

He tried running towards her, surrounded by unknown plants and leaves. He just couldn't get through the forest quick enough with his arm still aching and stinging as if he had been stung by a bee.

"I'm coming… I'm coming!" he called back.

"Doctor McCoy!" He could feel two arms placed on his, as his eyes snapped open.

He immeditatly sat straight up and panted. He was covered in sweat. His eyes focused on the familiar person holding his arms. "Nurse?" he managed to say to her between breaths.

"Are you okay, Leonard? You're covered in sweat! That must have been some dream. You were calling out to us; we could hear you from outside your office."

McCoy finally caught his breath and wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Just a dream, Nurse. I'm fine now."

That didn't stop Nurse Chapel grabbing the tricorder from his desk and quickly scanning him. She knew that doctors made the worst patients and McCoy had a reputation for being the worst patient on the whole of the Enterprise.

"Hmm…" She said out aloud. "How's the arm now? Do I need to call M'Benga in here?"

"No need Chris" He reassured his caring colleague. "It actually feels better than ever." McCoy lifted his shirt sleeve showing the nurse the green leaf bandage that Nurse Harriet had previously wrapped around his arm. He had forgotten about that.

"Oh really, doctor?" Nurse Chapel had her hands back on her hips. "Then what's this?"

She pointed at the leaf. "I've not seen that before now."

Doctor McCoy let out a sigh. There was no hiding it now. He swung his legs off the sofa onto the floor and rubbed his temple to try and soothe the headache that had started to tease him.

"It's nothing. I was swiped by a bear creature on the planet. The nurse down there tended to it. Honestly I feel much better after my sleep. How's Jim? Is he awake?"

Nurse Chapel switched from "annoyed mother" mode back to professional nurse, after seeing McCoy was, in his words 'fine', although she didn't believe him.

"No Doctor, still sleeping and all pain levels are in the normal range."

McCoy stood up and walked towards the mirror on the wall behind his desk. He still looked awful but he managed to drag a smile out.

"Thank you, Nurse. I think I will take a quick shower then."

Nurse Chapel smiled back at her boss and left his office without speaking.

McCoy took his shirt off first. Luckily, he had his own en-suite with shower joining onto his office so he didn't have to drag himself back to his quarters. He looked at himself in the mirror and rubbed his chin. I really need a shave…

He entered the bathroom and started the sonic shower. He began to remove the leaf bandage that was wrapped around his arm slowly. He expected to see heavy bruising and even deep scratches from the claws.

He couldn't look as he chucked the leaf on the floor. The warmth of the running shower had made the mirror steam up. He took a deep breath, expecting he would need to try and sneak the replicator in his office to treat himself, before anyone noticed and signed him off.

He wiped the mirror clean with his towel and opened his eyes to look at his arm. He saw nothing. Not a break in the skin, a bruise, nothing. As if nothing had even happened.

He raised an eyebrow and assumed he was just overreacting. There's no way the Hummanius had the tools or technology to treat this. Yet, there was no sign of him being swiped at all.

He shrugged his shoulders and entered the shower. 

* * *

"Nothing beats a fresh clean uniform and a cup of coffee!" McCoy was full of cheer after his nap and shower. He felt much more refreshed. Another reason why he hated being part of the landing party was the dirty feeling he always had when he returned back. He stepped onto sickbay from his office and went straight towards Jim's bed. Nurse Chapel was already there, now cleaning his face. Jim had two huge black eyes from his broken nose, but that was nothing the replicator couldn't fix later. In fact, he probably wouldn't even bother using it. He was going to make sure that Jim stayed under his watchful eyes for at least two weeks with all those injuries. Then there would be check-ups and, depending on how bad his ankle was, possibly physiotherapy. It would be a lot less stressful for Jim's body to heal itself than to speed up the process.

He tucked his hands behind his back as he reached the foot of Jim's biobed.

"And how is my favourite patient?" he asked the nurse sarcastically.

"Filthy, doctor. Although, I do believe he is waking up…"

Jim's head started to roll side to side as he shut his eyes tighter before slowly reopening them.

* * *

 _ **To Be Continued...**_


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

Doctor McCoy was quickly at Jim's side. Holding his wrist and checking his pulse was almost second nature to him now. He kept his eyes on the monitor above Jim's head as the dials began to move up and down as he woke.

"Well good evening, sleepy head. Have you quite finished being beaten to a pulp now?"

McCoy removed the oxygen mask from Jim's nose and mouth before Jim had the chance to fight it off.

Jim cracked a weak smile to his friend, relieved to see him. "Fuck you, Bones." He only managed to whisper, his mouth still felt like the desert.

Once McCoy had finished checking all of Jim's stats for the second time, he looked down and ruffled his Captain's hair, minding the now cleanly bandaged bump on his head. "How do you feel?" he asked, expecting another sarcastic comment.

"Yeah, great. Even better, if you let me get my hands on the son-of-a-bitch that did this to me in the first place. Can I have some water? I feel like I'm spitting sand here."

"Well I can see your sense of humour hasn't been affected." McCoy picked up the PADD at the end of Jim's biobed and started making notes of the time Jim woke and how it affected his stats. "Sorry kid, only ice chips for now. You're still a bit dehydrated." He slotted the PADD back down and patted Jim's toes as he saw him roll his eyes "And this foot might require surgery yet."

Jim inhaled sharply with every tap of his toe McCoy gave him.

"That's just a sprain, I sorted it planet side." He said through gritted teeth.

McCoy raised an eyebrow. "Oh and you managed to X-ray the foot yourself down there too Dr Kirk?"

He took some scissors off Nurse Chapel's med trolley. "Can you fetch our fellow doctor some ice chips please, Nurse? Oh and his oxygen reading is a little lower than I'd like, set up a nasal cannula too please."

Nurse Chapel gave her sweetest smile to Jim, who was now pouting like a baby "Certainly, Doctor McCoy."

"I'm still your Captain, Bones. Remember that." Jim sulked. He hated being in sickbay, he wanted to be out on adventure.

"Not until I clear you fit for duty." McCoy quickly answered. "Now, keep still. I'm cutting this make-shift splint you made and I don't want to miss."

"Your legendary hands slip, Bones?" Jim teased his friend, "You won't miss."

McCoy focused on slowly cutting off Jim's old golden uniform, still covered in dirt and grime.

Please don't be any grazes under here… the last thing we need is more space crap in him.

One snip was all it needed and McCoy started untangling his swollen foot. An imprint from the shirt was printed deep in his skin. Eventually, he reached the bare ankle just as Nurse Chapel returned with a plastic cup full of ice.

She hooked Jim's nasal cannula up to the oxygen before slotting the smaller pipes into his battered nose. She tried her hardest not to touch his heavily bruised face but got distracted when she caught Jim's eyes staring at her. Even with two black eyes they were eye catching. Jim tried not to show any pain as she caught him and luckily nobody had noticed the small rise on the pain level of the monitor above him.

McCoy dropped Jim's old torn shirt to the floor and examined the swollen foot. Jim was helping himself to the ice, swirling it around his dry mouth savouring the feeling.

"Well? What's the damage then, doc?" He spat on his doctor with a mouth full of ice.

McCoy never took his eyes off Jim's foot, swollen and heavily bruised, there was going to be at least a fracture in one of the bones. He ignored Jim and started to wipe away some of the dirt that was left.

Well, shit. Things are never easy with this kid, are they?

He let out a sigh. "Would it kill you to look where you are going?"

"Where's your sense of adventure Bones?!"

McCoy sighed again. He should have known better, he had heard that line over a thousand times already.

"Look Jim, you've grazed the whole top of your foot. That means possible infection, nasty space bugs and whatever else was down on that miserable planet." He turned to Nurse Chapel, who was standing at the head of the bed monitoring Jim's stats as McCoy worked. "Nurse, set up another 48 hours of antibiotic IV. We could be dealing with anything now. Take a blood sample and run it down to the lab."

Jim attempted to sit up. There was nothing worse than being laid down and fussed over. He managed to get half way up with his teeth clenched, ignoring the shooting pains in the front of his head, until the monitor pain level indicator started to wail in alarm.

Jim started seeing stars and lost control of his arms. Two hands pushed him back down to the pillow his head had been previously resting on.

"Well, let that be a lesson to you. You aren't ready to get up and go out adventuring for a good while yet. So lay there and rest or I'll sedate your ass into the next solar system." McCoy knew Jim would try and escape the clutches of sick bay.

Jim raised his hand and attempted to rub his temple to soothe the growing headache, but the bandage protecting that bump on his head stopped him.

"It's bright in here, you know that?"

McCoy stood at the end of the bed and folded his arms.

"Computer, Lights 20%."

The lights dropped and almost instantly Jim's did too.

McCoy shook his head at the thought of Jim's attempt to get up playing back in his head.

"Rest." 

* * *

Jim was peacefully enjoying his well deserved nap, until his ears pricked up and tuned to another conversation on Sickbay.

"I'm telling you now Spock. He's not ready for visitors."

"I must speak with the Captain now, Doctor. It is of high importance."

"You're the goddamn Captain now. Jim needs to rest."

His eyes snapped open. If there was a problem with his ship, he needed to know. "Spock!"

McCoy snapped the curtain back. "Computer, lights 90%. I see you're awake again."

Spock followed him in and stood next to his bruised captain.

"Captain, I must speak with you." Spock folded his arms behind his back and looked at the doctor, who had just picked up Jim's notes and scribbled yet more down. "In private."

Jim rubbed his eyes, forgetting the bruises, causing him to deeply inhale and the pain monitor to spike a little, although this time the doctor noticed.

McCoy raised an eyebrow as he watched the needle drop back down.  
"I can take the hint Spock."

Seeing as the second Jim's hand left his head the needle was back in its – slightly higher than he would like, but still something that Jim could cope with – point he spun in his heel and left, taking the PADD with him so he could check the stats from his office. Of course Jim didn't know that. He would probably find it a bit stalker-ish.

"What is it Spock?" Jim tried to hold back a yawn but failed. He was tired still, even though all he had done since beaming aboard was sleep. The thought of it being due to his concussion, heat stroke, dehydration and not to mention the amount of God knows what McCoy was stuffing into him, didn't even cross his mind. He just blamed it on the fact he hadn't been sleeping all too well.

"Captain, I am aware that since your beaming back aboard the ship, you are medically unfit for duty. However, Starfleet have requested that I inform you of the new orders, as soon as possible."

Spock didn't even flinch when the heart monitor dial above Jim's head started to rise. Jim knew it was serious when Starfleet wanted him to know the orders even though he shouldn't even be out of bed. Obviously this made him excited, and the adventure continues!

McCoy had noticed the increase but knew he didn't have to worry. It didn't stop him shouting across the Sickbay though.

"Jim, calm the fuck down or I will be hypospraying your neck quicker than you can say 'Tribble'!"

"What the fuck? How does he… oh forget it. Well Spock, What are they then?" Bloody Bones the stalker.

"The Doctor is just expressing his medical concern for you Captain. It would be logical to 'calm down' before he enters. These orders are confidential."

"As are all Starfleet orders, Mr. Spock. Now please, the orders."

Spock looked up at his monitor. Seeing the dials scattered around like that wasn't a good sign. Although he had his orders, it would be illogical to give them to the Captain while he was very unstable.

"I have kept it classified in a PADD. Doctor McCoy will give them to you when you are more stable."

Jim's heart sunk. He thought he was going to be out of sickbay tomorrow and not even his First Officer could do one simple thing. "I'm fine Spock." He yawned again "Just tired."

Spock raised his eyebrow. "Then perhaps you need rest, as Doctor McCoy suggested."

Jim yawned again, causing his eyes to close shut. He couldn't hide it from Spock. Even his best poker face wouldn't work on him, it was pointless. He opened his eyes again and they were glistening with water.

"Fine, maybe… I…"

Jim couldn't even finish his sentence. His eyes rolled back in his head and he was gone into the darkness.

Spock turned to leave, but before he could close the curtain behind him the monitor alarms started to alert, echoing across sickbay.

McCoy, M'Benga and Nurse Chapel were there within a blink of an eye, running scanners over him.  
Spock froze and just watched.

"Good God man, I told you he wasn't ready for visitors. What did you tell him?!"  
"That information is classified, Doctor." Spock replied to the flustered doctor and retreated to the back of Sickbay. He was unable to leave, even though everything Vulcan in his head maintained that he needed to be back on the bridge. His human side was fighting it – and winning.

McCoy was flicking through Jim's notes, searching for the blood results as fast as he could. Situations like these made him glad he learnt to speed read at Med School.

His whole face dropped when he found them.

"Goddamn it. We need to prep him for surgery now. There's something in his foot. It's poisoning him."

Why the fuck wasn't I told this in person!? I'm having some serious words with the lab after this.

* * *

 ** _Authors Note:_**

 _Sorry about the long wait for this chapter and I'm also sorry it's a little shorter than the rest._

 _I really wasn't sure where I was going with it! I am constantly brainstorming on my breaks at work for it, so I hope you all like it.  
_ _The next chapter will be updated soon as tonight's my last night at work this week. So look out for it!  
_ _  
To my American readers, I apologise again for the English spellings.  
_ _Also for some reason my Word's spell checker seems to be broken… No idea what I've done there.  
_ _  
Please Review! I'd love to know what you all think, I loved writing about Spocks inner human side, the Vulcan side still causes me trouble!_


	9. Chapter 9

_**Authors Note:  
**_ _Sorry it took me longer than expected to write this, I'm currently suffering with tonsillitis.  
_ _Please bare with my shift pattern names on this, if someone could message me with the correct times/shift patterns I will happily correct this._

 _Please review! You are all my motivation. My last chapter didn't get any feedback (apart from the miss spelling of Biobed – which is now corrected thank you_ _) which makes me wonder if its what you all wanted to see or not.  
_ _I welcome ALL reviews and would love to see some private messages on what you'd like to see next!_

 _I did struggle with this chapter, I wont lie. Spock is still proving difficult for me._

* * *

 **Chapter Nine**

Leonard McCoy stepped back from his patient, his captain and his friend. He wiped the sweat from his brow and let out a sigh of relief.

"I think that's all of it."

Upon cutting open his foot, with Jim now completely comatose, he had discovered a small group of maggots. They were feeding off his blood and with every bite they took they injected a small amount of poison straight into Jim's blood stream. Bones had seen a lot of nasty things in his medical career, but this was enough to almost make him hurl. Even poor Nurse Chapel managed to swallow back any bile that rose to her mouth. It was disgusting.

"That explains why his foot was triple the size it should be anyway. Freeze the samples please nurse, we are going to need them alive to find the anti-venom. Hopefully we have one powerful enough to work against this type of poison already."

Nurse Chapel held the squirming maggots away from her body in a clear dish. They were bright green with black spots, nothing like she had seen before.

"Yes doctor, shall I take them down to the lab?"

McCoy, who was still angry at the lab for not telling him of Jim's blood test results sooner, just shook his head. "I'll do it myself – thank you nurse."

Nurse Chapel nodded back to her boss, "remember M'Benga needs to see that arm." She quickly turned and left for the nurse's station before he could protest.

McCoy had completely forgotten about his arm, he hadn't even bothered to check it himself after his refreshing shower. He just remembered seeing nothing wrong with it, as if he had made the whole thing up.

As he finished stitching Jim's foot his thoughts drifted back to the planet.

Waking up in that cave, on those animal skins, Spock was nowhere to be seen. He'd left me with those people. At least there was no pain.

Then there nurse, Nurse Harriet, what a sight for sore eyes…

She said something… now what was it?

Something about…

"Doctor McCoy!"

The familiar tones of Nurse Chapel snapped him out his day dream. Luckily his skilled hands never had a problem with closing up after surgery. In fact, he could probably do it with his eyes shut.

"Would you like me to take another blood sample while the Captain's still asleep?"

McCoy couldn't help but let a smile out. He knew she had only asked not to judge his medical opinion, but because she knew how much the captain hated hypos.

"Let's wait for him to wake up. A little suffering is good for the soul. Besides the amount of grief he's put me through on that damn planet, I think it's about time I got a little payback."

Nurse Chapel placed her hands on his hips and shook her head.

"Whatever you say, Doctor." 

* * *

McCoy sat in his office alone. The lights were dimmed and for the first time since they beamed back up, it was peaceful.

Jim was still sleeping after his surgery and all the nurses had clocked off hours ago. It was now early morning and the start of Alpha shift.

Due to Bones' timely nap before Jim's surgery, he was far too awake to go back to bed now. So he kindly volunteered himself to stay on call that night. He wanted to be the first to talk to Jim when he woke.

Nurse Chapel was the first to walk into Sickbay, looking refreshed and ready for her shift's work.

She stepped into McCoy's office and caught him researching the maggots that he had previously removed from Jim's foot. She looked around the mess of his office and couldn't quite believe he was able to work in the state it was in.

McCoy didn't even need to look up to know it was her at his door. Her faint smell of perfume had always given him comfort, until now.

"I've never even seen creatures like this before. Nothing we have will cure the poison."

Nurse Chapel looked concerned for her boss. She had never seen him look so stressed.

"Never mind that now, has anyone checked you out yet?"

McCoy looked up at her with black bags under his eyes.

"I'm fine. My arm's fine. Stop asking nurse."

Nurse Chapel tutted. "I wasn't referring to your arm, Doctor McCoy. You know everyone who beams down to a new planet must complete a physical within 48 hours and your times almost up. Spock's just finished his and returned to the bridge. M'Benga is waiting."

She always knew how to outsmart him.

Goddamn it.

McCoy rose from his seat and left the sanctuary of his office without speaking a word. He slumped onto the biobed that M'Benga was standing next to.

M'Benga didn't say anything to McCoy. He wanted this over just as much as his fellow doctor did.

He whipped the tricorder out and ran it over McCoy quickly.

McCoy had a well-known reputation for being the worst patient on the Enterprise, which of course he didn't believe himself. Personally he though the Captain was ten times worse than him.

When the results came back M'Benga looked confused, which of course McCoy picked up on.

"Well?"

M'Benga put the tricorder down and lifted McCoy's sleeve up, without asking.

"Well, according to my scan, your arm is broken and your sleep deprived. How do you feel?"

He began poking at McCoy's arm.

McCoy raised an eyebrow, there's no way his arm was broken.

"The tricorder must be faulty. My arm is fine."

M'Benga stepped back from McCoy. "Well an X-Ray wouldn't hurt." He left to grab the portable X-Ray. McCoy just rolled his eyes at the waste of time, and he knew he wouldn't have been able to operate if his arm was broken. Luckily X-Rays never took long and the result was instant.

M'Benga returned and with a simple click the X-Ray was done. He rubbed his chin,

"Well I guess you were right, faulty tricorder. X-Ray is fine. So I suppose you aren't feeling sleep deprived then?"

McCoy's whole face blushed, "I suppose a few hours couldn't hurt."

M'Benga tucked the portable X-Ray to the side out of the way. "Why aren't you sleeping? You've been back for a good two days now."

McCoy shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know."

Nurse Chapel walked over to them both, carrying the leaf bandage that McCoy had left in his bathroom in one hand. The other was tucked behind her back.

"Probably something to do with the night terrors you've been having Doctor."

M'Benga folded his arms and gave a stern look at McCoy. "Anything like that needs to be correctly documented. You know that Leonard. We can give you a light sedative. You need to rest, for Jim."

Nurse Chapel quickly swung her hidden hand around to her front and placed a hypospray into M'Benga's hand. He quickly stabbed McCoy in the neck, administrating the light sedative.

"Goddamn it…" McCoy's voice trailed off and he fell back into the comfort of the biobed, back into the land of the sleeping.

"That should keep him down for a good few hours. Keep an eye on him please. Oh and I noticed we've not had a blood sample of the Captain since his… removal. Can you take another vial of blood please, run it to the lab and ask them to check the venom quantity." He spotted the green leaf in her other hand. "What is that?"

Nurse Chapel shrugged her shoulders. "I was tidying Leonard's office and I found it in his bathroom, I believe it was wrapped around his arm when he beamed aboard."

"Interesting. Better send it down the lab too, maybe his arm was broken after all…"

Nurse Chapel nodded her head to M'Benga, "Yes doctor." 

* * *

McCoy bolted upright. Goddamn sedatives! He swung his legs around off the bed and jumped down, quickly whipping the curtain back to check on Jim.

M'Benga and Nurse Chapel were still on duty. They were standing around Jim's bed watching the monitor. Jim was still asleep.

Jim's still sleeping… that's either really good or really bad.

He staggered across sickbay to Jim.

M'Benga turned to face him. He knew there was no point arguing with McCoy now. Especially as they had tricked him into having a sedative.

"Leonard. I'm sorry."

"You're sorry?" McCoy raised an eyebrow, instantly checking Jim's monitor himself. He was instantly relieved that the Captain still had a pulse.

"We can't stop the poison. We've tried all different types of anti-venom and even a full blood transfusion. The old blood instantly contaminates the new before it's even had a chance to circulate. I've never seen poison react like this. We are running out of options before his organs start to fail."

McCoy rubbed his face. How long was I out? Goddamn it, why did they do that to me now! Of all times! Jim needed me!

"Does Spock know?" McCoy was lost for words. It's not often he thinks of the green-blooded hobgoblin first, but it was the last chance Jim had.

Nurse Chapel quickly answered as M'Benga scribbled notes down, probably on McCoy's file rather than Jim's.

"He's in the lab, examining the leaf that was wrapped around your arm when you were beamed up."

McCoy spun round and ran to find Spock. He had to know something that could help Jim. Even if it was a damn mind meld to make Jim conscious again. 

* * *

Spock was busy in the lab, examining all parts of the leaf. He had cut it into pieces, some parts were being tested by the lab techs, while some parts by himself. He was looking down a microscope when McCoy entered. "Fascinating."

"Spock!"

Spock didn't even look up to see McCoy. He just continued to focus on the microscope.

"It is good to see you awake, Doctor."

Spock moved from the telescope to his electronic clipboard, making notes on the leaf.

McCoy just rolled his eyes at the thought of Spock checking on him in sickbay. Just like Jim, he hated being fussed over.

"What are you doing with that damn leaf? I need you in Sickbay. I need your help with Jim."

He shuddered at what he had just said. Asking Spock for help was not something he did often.

Spock looked up at McCoy.

"I am, Doctor. It appears this leaf has some kind of minor healing properties."

McCoy raised his eyebrow. Not even phased by what Spock had just said to him.

"Dammit Spock, I'm a doctor, not a botanist! Just get the leaf to work on Jim before his organs start to shut down."

"Doctor, we would need more than just this one leaf in order to cure the Captain of the poison."

McCoy didn't even let Spock explain before speaking. "Then we beam down."

"That would be the logical thing to do doctor. However the risk of finding the Yamanian would be 87.8% and if captured, I would be unable to return." Spock continued to make notes on his electronic clipboard, which only he would be able to understand.

"Then I'm coming with you. If we can find Nurse Harriet again, we can beam her up and she can help Jim!" He blushed, thinking of the kind nurse that had helped him down on the planet.

"Doctor, I cannot allow it. You must stay with the Captain." Spock rose to his feet and began heading to the door.

"Spock. Jim is safe with Nurse Chapel and Doctor M'Benga. Together we have a much better chance of finding the Hummanius. We need to be quick. Jim is dying dammit."

"Our chance of finding the Hummanius does increase by 21% with you present, Doctor. Very well."

McCoy followed Spock out to the transporter room. When they entered, he was pleased to see his faithful tricorder and satchel were waiting for him.

They stepped onto the pad.

"Energise Mr Scott." Spock ordered.

* * *

 _ **To Be Continued...**_


	10. Chapter 10

_**Authors Note:  
**_ _My apologies that this has taken me so long to write! I've been grabbing any chance I can to catch up with some sleep.  
_ _Please review and let me know what you think! (If you're still reading!)_

 _You are all my muse, my inspiration and my friends.  
_ _Thank you.  
_ _Not long to go now!  
_ _Oh and also, I finally have a beta! They are reading through past chapters first, so this chapter is currently unbeta'ed, but I wanted to share it asap! Thank you Afroz._

* * *

 **Chapter Ten**

Leonard McCoy didn't even notice the usual transporter nausea he suffered this time. The second his vision came into focus he was ready to move out. He took one step forward and froze.

The clearing that they originally beamed down to was now nothing but smoking tree trunks and flames of burning leaves. The smoke took him by surprise and he instantly started coughing before he had the chance to cover his mouth.

Spock grabbed McCoy's arm and pulled him forward, "We must move, Doctor."

They managed to escape the remains of the open space unharmed. Just a small amount of smoke inhalation, nothing they both couldn't handle. It was Jim that needed them now.

"What happened back there?" McCoy rasped as he caught his breath. They were now safely on their way towards the metal mountains. With Spock leading, he didn't think it would take long to find the Hummanius.

"I do not know. However, if I was to make a logical assumption, I would say that the Yamanian were unimpressed that we rescued their prisoner."

McCoy raised an eyebrow and cracked his biggest smile. "Did I hear that right? You just made a guess!"

"Guessing is not in my nature Doctor."

"Well, nobody's perfect." Clearly Spock didn't understand the humour of him making a guess like McCoy. It made him think how if Jim was here, he would have laughed. He slipped back into Chief Medical Officer mode when thoughts of his friend laying on the bed in sickbay entered his mind. 

* * *

Nurse Chapel couldn't help but stay right next to Jim's side. She was sick with worry for her boss, Doctor McCoy and her Captain, Jim Kirk. She sat close to Jim as he laid peacefully sleeping in his induced coma. So far this was the only thing that would slow the poison from travelling around his body. They had to keep his heart rate as low as it was possible without killing him.

She reached out and held his clammy hand. She had always said a good nurse always shows her patients that she cares, regardless of who they were. She watched as the Captain's lips started to shiver, even though she had just wiped the beads of sweat off his temple, minding the bandage that was keeping that slash dry and sterile. Even though she was currently off duty, she couldn't stop her caring and made notes of Jim's, now rising, fever.

She let out a sigh, "Keep fighting it, Captain." She whispered under her breath. 

* * *

McCoy and Spock stood still in front of the Hummanius cave. The mountain's metal still sparkled in the sunlight. A pile of rubble lay around the edge of the mountain that McCoy didn't remember seeing before, although he didn't remember much from the cave as he was too busy thinking about the trouble Jim had got himself into.

Spock whipped out his tricorder and began to scan the mountain. McCoy just looked puzzled.

"I could have sworn this was it? Spock?"

Spock looked up and began following the edge of the glistening mountain, without speaking.

McCoy watched as the Vulcan started moving around the mountain. He decided he didn't need to follow him. "Spock, is this it or not? For all I know Jim's organs have already started to fail. Time is of the essence now."

Spock didn't answer, he dropped his tricorder and placed his hand on the mountain surface, spacing his fingers perfectly.

"What? You're going to try and fucking mind meld with the mountain?! Is that even possible? Spock!" McCoy was getting pretty darn fed up with this 'ignore the doctor' game.

He stormed up to Spock. "Are you out of your Vulcan mind? You can't mind meld with a mountain."

Spock's eyes quickly flashed open. "Doctor. We are in the correct position. I can sense that there are people trapped inside."

McCoy was more confused than ever. "People? In there?" He pointed to the mountain. "So where's the entrance?"

Spock didn't even need to speak before it all clicked in McCoy's head. "We better start digging then." He whipped out his phaser off his belt and aimed at the rock before Spock stopped him.

"Doctor, we cannot use our phasers. I have calculated the risk of the vibrations on the metal and it would cause the whole cave to collapse in."

"Well damn, Spock. Is there at least a way we can tell if anyone is still alive in there before wasting more time?" McCoy placed his phaser back onto his belt. At least he tried.

"I have already informed you that I was able to perform a mind meld through the mountain wall. I was able to communicate with a Hummanius, who was quite alive, although the meld was extremely faint due to the metal."

McCoy fell to his knees and began slowly moving the rubble with his hands. "We are coming!" he called out to the cave, not expecting an answer.

Spock began to help move the rocks. Of course this was an easy task for a Vulcan. The sun was still just as hot as before, causing McCoy to stop every now and again and wipe the sweat from his hairline. He took his blue shirt off in an attempt to cool down faster.

"We should have brought more water down." He gasped, "Now I know what Jim meant when he said he was spitting sand."

"Doctor, if you need to rest, then you may. I am quite capable of moving the rocks."

McCoy sat and panted as he gathered his breath. "What are you talking about? I'm fine. In the peak of fitness!"

Spock didn't stop moving the rocks, ignoring the doctor's wit.

"And anyway Spock…" McCoy was going to remind Spock that he passed his recent medical with flying colours but he was interrupted by the distant calls of help.

"Do you hear that?! Hello! It's Doctor McCoy! Can you hear me?" He quickly began to pick up the pace with moving the rocks. "They are close Spock."

"Yes doctor, I calculate only 3.6 meters away now."

McCoy didn't even stop to look at Spock to roll his eyes. He could feel the trapped cave air rushing through the gaps in the rocks. Feeling the air made him move faster and faster until finally he heard Isabella's sweet voice.

She stood in front of her family and placed her hands on her hips. "Spock! You took your time!"

McCoy bowed his head in relief and smiled as the sweat dripped off his face. They were alive. 

* * *

Nurse Chapel still hadn't moved. She held Jim's hand even tighter as he mumbled and shook in his sleep. Suddenly, an alarm bell rang on the monitor above his head.

M'Benga rushed over with the on-duty nurse. He whirled a tricorder over Jim's whole body as he shook. She would do anything to see him open his eyes now, even though they were both nearly black as space from his broken nose, the whites of his eyes would be enough to light up his whole face.

"It's not good Christine. His kidneys have started to fail. It won't be long until his lungs and heart give out. I can't lower his heart beat anymore without possibly causing brain damage. Kirk might not ever wake up. Nurse, prepare to intubate. We need to be ready."

Nurse Chapel stepped away from Jim and took in a deep breath to calm her nerves.

"C'mon doctor McCoy… please hurry." She whispered into her hands as she rubbed her face.

* * *

McCoy just had Charlie left to check over. Who was being as stubborn as ever.

"I do not need your help. It is too much to ask."

McCoy wouldn't take no for an answer. He grabbed Charlie's arm and helped him out the cave.

"We don't have time for that right now, this cave is coming in."

Nurse Harriet could see McCoy struggling, moving the rocks had fatigued him. She grabbed Charlie's other arm and assisted in moving him out the cave.

They had taken two steps out of the crumbling cave when they heard an explosion. It made the ground shake and caused Isabella and Adam to instantly cover their ears from the noise.

The whole cave collapsed in, coating them all in dust.

"Well. That was lucky." McCoy coughed as he breathed the dust in.

Charlie fought his way out of McCoy's grip and collapsed to his knees.

"Our home… our sanctuary. We are no longer safe."

Isabella ran and hugged her grandfather. "It's okay, Grandpa. Spock can take us to safety."

Charlie looked back at her granddaughter. A tear ran down his face. "I have failed you Isabella. You and your brother. I promised to keep you safe."

Isabella wiped the tears off her grandpa's face. "Let them help us then."

She did not understand the Hummanius way.

Charlie rose to his feet and stared around at what was left of his race.

Nurse Harriet, Adam, Isabella and himself.

"We are now a part of an endangered species. It is time to change our ways to protect ourselves. We have suffered enough loss." He spoke proudly of his race.

McCoy watched on as the ancient laws of the race disappeared. He couldn't help but feel relieved that they were finally going to let them help him and his family.

Charlie turned to Spock. "Take us to your ship. We will cooperate with whatever you have in store."

McCoy quickly butted in. "You make it sound like a prison sentence. I can promise you, the Captain will do his best to get you and your family relocated on a safe planet."

Charlie smiled back at the doctor who had previously saved his life. He moved closer and took him by the arm, steering him away from the children.

"Doctor McCoy, we were entrusted to protect this planet from harvesters. We have failed. This is now punishable by death."

Doctor McCoy's eyebrows nearly shot up into his hair line. "You've got to be kidding me! Starfleet would never kill, if you failed a mission."

Charlie sighed. "Starfleet did not assign us the mission. The Orion did. Once they find out we failed to protect their metal, they will activate the slow poison that was injected into our system and kill us. Well, Nurse Harriet and me. The children have not been injected."

McCoy turned to Spock, seeing red with anger. "Did you know about this? Does Jim know?"

Spock walked over to them both while the children cuddled up to Nurse Harriet.

"I was informed. The Captain does not know. It is written in the classified PADD I gave you, to give to him once he was recovered."

All the hairs raised on the back of McCoy's neck.

"We have to protect these people dammit. They are Jim's only hope."

Charlie was struck with confusion. "Jim? Your Captain?"

McCoy hadn't realised how much time had passed, he quickly informed Charlie of their Captain's situation. "…If we don't help him soon, he will die."

Charlie rubbed his bearded face. "Sounds just like the river leeches in the water here. Highly poisonous, even to us. You are in luck. Nurse Harriet does know the antidote to this particular poison.

Nurse Harriet left the children sitting by the rocks that McCoy and Spock had previously moved. She walked over to the other adults. "Unfortunately all my medical herbs were in the cave. We will need to find more quickly before the sun sets or we will be in even more danger."

"We cannot beam up here either, doctor. We must travel to the clearing and contact the ship first." Spock spoke in a logical manner. "Nurse, is it possible to gather the herbs on the way to the clearing to the West of here?"

Nurse Harriet nodded to Spock. "The herbs grow in the lake, so quite easy to obtain, as long as the Yamanian aren't about."

"It's a risk we are going to have to take." McCoy interrupted. "We need to move, quickly. I don't know if Jim's even still alive without speaking to sick bay."

"Then we shall attempt to contact the ship on the way, Doctor. Can you walk, sir?" he spoke to Charlie who was moving back towards his grandchildren.

"Don't worry about me, tough as old boots!" Charlie cheered as he waved his broken root walking stick in the air. He was already walking to the clearing.

* * *

 _ **To Be Continued...**_


	11. Chapter 11

_**Authors Note:  
**_ _Ok so please don't hate me for this chapter!  
_ _It would be great to know what you all think as I hit a bit of a writer's block and I'm starting to worry that it's becoming boring._

 _Sorry Jim!Hurts Fans, but he's completely absent in this chapter, however watch out for Chapter Twelve as it will be all about him again.  
_ _Thanks for reading!_

* * *

 **Chapter Eleven**

The journey back towards the stream felt much quicker to McCoy the second time around. Even though they were assisting a fragile elderly man, who needed much more help than he cared to admit. As well as his two grandchildren who just kept flooding Spock with questions about his ears, haircut and eyebrows.

At least he had Nurse Harriet to speak to. She told him of the natural healing properties of most of the plants on the planet, even though it was supposed to stay secret. Bones understood this, if the Klingons or the Romulans ever found out about it all, the consequences wouldn't be worth living for. As she started to explain about her upbringing as Hummanius, McCoy couldn't help but drift off into his own thoughts, mostly about how stunning she was.

"And that's how I was entrusted to keep the Hummanius well." She noticed the Doctor had stopped paying attention when he tripped for the third time on a root. "Doctor McCoy?" she couldn't help but giggle. Human men were such interesting creatures to her.

McCoy blushed and glided his hand through his hair. "That's so interesting Nurse. If I keep tripping like this I'm going to have to hold onto somebody!"

"I'll do it!" Isabella's small hand reached into his, holding it tightly. "I won't let you fall."

McCoy let out an awkward smile to the nurse who just giggled sweetly back to him.

"Call me Harri, Doctor." She couldn't help but blush.

"Then you can call me Leonard." He blushed back. Normally the flirting would be all down to Jim. Bones actually felt a pang of guilt that his friend wasn't down here to enjoy this. However, that soon died down when he remembered that flirting was Jim's thing and he was highly competitive.

They soon reached the edge of the stream. Opposite the stream, most of the trees were now steaming with smoke where they have been attacked with something. McCoy didn't like to think what could make marks in trunks that thick and solid. Whatever it was, it was powerful. He shuddered at the thought which Isabella noticed.

"You can't be cold, Leonard. It's like a billion degrees down here!"

McCoy smirked at the little girl, noticing that she called him Leonard.

"Just thinking about something" He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. Some of her mannerisms really made him think of home and of his sweet Joanna. As soon as this was all over with, I must give her a call.

Spock, who was leading them all, stopped at the edge of the water.

"Nurse, are you able to collect the herbs from this spot?"

Nurse Harriet moved to the water and bent down to her knees. She looked into the clear stream closely, squinting to get a clearer view.

"Yes, I think I see some. Looks like there are four or five down there. That should be enough to cure your Captain."

She rose from her knees and began to take off what was left of her ragged cardigan. She whipped a knife out of the home-made vine belt and put the blade between her teeth.

"You're not seriously going for a swim are you?" McCoy piped up, as he knew Spock wouldn't.

Nurse Harriet smiled at the doctor. She took the knife out from her teeth and giggled her infectious giggle. "How else am I going to collect the herbs?"

She put the knife back and gave McCoy a cheeky wink before diving into the stream like a professional.

McCoy dropped Isabella's hand and moved to the edge of the water. He was glad the stream was so clear, he could watch her every graceful movement. She glided about the water like a mermaid.

Isabella placed her hands on her hips. "She does know what she's doing Leonard."

McCoy raised an eyebrow at the cheekiness of Isabella. She really was like Joanna.

"I'm just checking. It's a doctor's job to make sure all his friends are safe." He grinned.

Spock suddenly froze. Charlie noticed and could sense the danger Spock could hear.

"They are coming, aren't they my friend?" he whispered to Spock in order not to alarm the rest of the group and most importantly his grandchildren.

Spock looked into the old man's eyes. "Yes. We must take cover."

The gun shots were louder now.

Charlie moved at lightning speed to get to his grandchildren as Spock and McCoy instinctively grabbed their phasers.

"Set phasers to kill, doctor."

McCoy had never heard Spock say that before. Naturally, he felt the need to question it. Starfleet would never kill without one hell of a reason. Killing went against everything in his medical oath.

"Kill? Spock, are you out of your Vulcan mind?"

Spock's focus didn't shift from the direction of the gun shot.

"It was ordered from Starfleet. We must destroy the Yamanian before they destroy us. If you cannot do this, then take cover with the rest of the Hummanius."

McCoy's eyebrow rised as he clicked his phaser to the kill setting. Who was he to cross Starfleet orders at a time like this?

Spock began running towards the sound of the gunshots, leaving Nurse Harriet in the water and Charlie protecting his grandchildren. McCoy didn't think twice about following him. The amount of grief he would get from Jim if anything happened to his First Officer wasn't worth thinking about.

Spock moved with such speed, jumping over the rocks and roots with ease. He suddenly stopped in his tracks. McCoy caught up and started panting. Even if he was physically fit, keeping up with Spock was a small workout in itself.

He placed his hands on his knees and breathed. "Why did you stop?" He managed to pant out.

Spock didn't reply, he was listening closely.

"I have reason to believe we have been tricked."

McCoy had a joke about a Vulcan being fooled by another race, but he was too damn out of breath to say it. He stood up and swallowed the building saliva in his mouth. "Well, now what?"

"We must return to the others and get to the beam up point."

Spock began walking back towards the river. McCoy followed. Well, at least we are walking this time!

Suddenly, a loud sound echoed through the forest. It sounded like a gun shot.

Spock and McCoy didn't even need to say a word to each other. Without thinking they both ran back towards the Hummanius.

* * *

Charlie ushered his grandchildren into the safety of a nearby thick bush.

"Grandpa, this bush has thorns!" Adam said to his grandfather.

"Stay hidden! Bella, protect your brother. Spock will come back for you."

Isabella's eyes instantly filled with water. She sensed the danger just by looking into her grandfather's eyes. "No grandpa. You'll come back for us."

Charlie placed a hand on top of her head and ruffled her hair.

"I will try princess."

He quickly turned and began moving back towards Spock and McCoy. He needed to get Nurse Harriet out of the water before they spotted her.

Charlie reached the water's edge and noticed Nurse Harriet cutting at the herbs. She was so used to the water she could hold her breath for a good 30 minutes if she needed to.

He bent down to his knees but before he could place a hand into the water he was interrupted.

"So you are the famous Charlie the Protector." The voice hissed at him. "I never expected you to be an old man."

Charlie raised his arms in the air the second he saw the villain holding a weapon.

"Jedidiah! How long have you been watching us?" Charlie spat, instantly thinking of his grandchildren sitting in the bush like bait.

"That's Lord Jedidiah to you! And long enough to make sure your two new friends ran in the wrong direction. Now you're all mine." He smirked. "You shouldn't have helped them old man."

Jedidiah squeezed the trigger of his weapon aimed at Charlie. A bright powerful beam left the pistol like weapon and killed Charlie instantly, burning him from the inside out. Charlie's body collapsed in a heap on the floor. His eyes, still open, filled with water as he stared at the bush in the distance with his beloved grandchildren inside. He took his last painful breath and then froze as it left his mouth for the last time. The last memory of his grandchildren peacefully playing slipped his mind and turned into black. He was gone.

* * *

Spock instantly stopped, seeing Charlie's heaped body on the floor. He held out his arm to stop McCoy from running towards him for medical aid. Spock had already seen Charlie wasn't breathing.

His eyes met Jedidiah's. Anger instantly came into Spock's mind, the murder of the person he intended to help, was too much for him and the human side of his mind was instantly in power from the Vulcan side. He didn't even need to think. He raised his phaser and shot Jedidiah instantly.

Jedidiah collapsed to the floor, without even getting a chance to respond to Spock's lightning quick reflexes. He was dead.

McCoy stepped out from behind Spock and ran towards Charlie, placing his hand on his neck checking for a pulse. "He's dead." He bowed his head and placed his fingers lightly over Charlie's eyelids, forcing them closed.

Nurse Harriet rose out of the stream oblivious to what had happened. She climbed out the stream and gasped the second she saw Charlie laying still on the floor.

She ran over to him and collapsed on top of him in tears. Her soaking wet hair dripping onto the body.

Spock bowed his head and kept out of the way.

McCoy grabbed Harriet by her arms and pulled her in close to him. "I'm so sorry."

Nurse Harriet pulled away from McCoy and stood up, looking around the stream. "Where are Isabella and Adam? I am all they have left!"

McCoy pulled her back in close to him to comfort her. "We will find them."

She sobbed into his chest. He shut his eyes to stop any tears falling from his tired eyes.

Their embrace was soon interrupted as the rest of the Yamanian came running up to find their leader dead. Thorr led the way and crouched over his leader. The others stayed standing, bowing their heads out of respect.

Spock instantly leapt forward with his phaser pointing. McCoy quickly ushered Nurse Harriet behind him, keeping one protective arm holding her, while the other pointed his phaser.

"Your leader is dead. I suggest you all surrender to us now or we will not hesitate to shoot." Spock spoke with such authority. They may have been outnumbered but that wouldn't stop him from trying, although McCoy was secretly hoping they would just do as Spock said, especially with time still being a factor.

Thorr rose to his feet. "We will never surrender."

He pointed to McCoy and Spock and let out a yell that echoed through the forest.

The guards started running towards them, with spears which were coated in poison at the tip. Luckily, they only had one weapon that could shoot.

Spock and McCoy instantly opened fire, shooting down all the guards with ease. Although McCoy's aim was slightly off from the rush of adrenaline, Spock didn't miss a target. Thorr stood back and watched as his people started falling one by one until he was the last one left. He gritted his teeth and slowly clapped at his opponent. Survival mode kicked in, he was the last one left.

"Looks like I have no choice. I surrender to you." Thorr said in gritted teeth. The evil look never left his face.

Nurse Harriet grabbed some nearby vine and passed it to McCoy, who just raised an eyebrow, not understanding what it was for.

"Tie him up, you can't trust these people." She whispered into his ear.

McCoy took the vine and moved towards Thorr, who was already waiting with his hands behind his back, never taking his eyes off Spock or the phaser that was pointing to him.

McCoy tied his hands in his best knot and pushed him forward towards Spock.

"Were we not ordered to kill these people Spock?"

"We were doctor, however I plan to return him to the ship and let him face trial for his actions against Captain Kirk at Starfleet."

McCoy smirked at his Vulcan friend, "Breaking the rules? Making guesses? What has this planet done to you?"

Spock didn't understand the gesture, so just shrugged his shoulders gently.

McCoy turned to Nurse Harriet, who was already looking for the children, desperately needing to know if they were safe.

She came across the bush that Charlie was left looking at. At first, she didn't think much of it until she heard a sneeze, followed by "Shh! Adam!"

She instantly smiled after hearing Isabella's sweet voice. She pulled the shrub apart and saw two faces staring at her. "Nurse Harri!" They both climbed out the bush and hugged her close. She had to be brave for them now.

She crouched down to their height and spoke softly.

"Now, we are going to follow Spock and Doctor McCoy now. We are going to find their starship and go somewhere safe. But first, I want you to cover your eyes." She managed to speak without breaking down into tears. How do you explain to children about death, when they had already seen so much hatred and devastation in their short lives?

Isabella didn't even question why as Nurse Harriet used her dry ragged cardigan and tied it tightly around her eyes, blinding her. She managed to find a leaf for Adam's smaller head which covered his eyes perfectly.

"Now, who's ready to go and find that starship" she spoke bravely as a tear fell from her eyes.

She scooped Adam up into her arms, carrying him would be much easier than expecting him to walk. McCoy copied and carried Isabella close to him.

"Leonard, you smell! You really need to take a shower." Isabella spoke to McCoy, which instantly made him crack a smile.

Spock took the lead, followed by their new prisoner, McCoy and Isabella and finally Nurse Harriet and Adam. They tip toed around Charlie's body carefully. Nurse Harriet held her breath as she said goodbye to a great man. Ideally she wanted to say goodbye properly, but she needed to save the Captain now. Too many lives have already been lost.

* * *

They finally reached the beam up point. The fire that greeted Spock and McCoy earlier had already burnt out and only ash and soot was left. The sun was starting to set.

Spock grabbed his communicator, his phaser never leaving Thorr.

Thorr didn't say anything. He still had the look of pure evil on his face, like as if he was scheming.

"Spock to Enterprise. Do you read me?" Spock spoke clearly.

McCoy and Nurse Harriet set the children down and uncovered their eyes. They both smiled at them, like loving parents.

Isabella looked around, noticing someone was missing. Her eyes started to fill with water.

"Where's grandpa?"

McCoy and Nurse Harriet exchanged a quick look to each other, before McCoy finally spoke.

"He's up exploring the stars with your mum and dad now. He will always be with you in your memories and he will always be watching out for you and your brother."

Isabella started wiping at her eyes, she knew exactly what he meant, but didn't have the heart to say it in front of her little brother. She had to be brave now.

She sniffed hard and nodded. Too upset to speak. Nurse Harriet pulled her and Adam in close and stroked their hair. "I won't leave you, or Adam. I promise. We are going to be safe now."

Spock had finally made contact with the ship and chief engineer Scott was ready for them.

"Six to beam up Mr Scott. Have security waiting for us in the transporter room. We are bringing aboard a prisoner."

"Aye, Mr Spock."

McCoy quickly separated the three remaining Hummanius ready for beam up, "Don't worry, it doesn't hurt a bit." He winked to the children.

"Energising." Mr Scott spoke into the open communicator.

They started to beam up slowly.

Thorr saw this as a perfect opportunity and ran, before the transporter could take him aboard. He ran out of the transporter range and it was too late for Spock to do anything about it.

* * *

 _ **To Be Continued...**_


	12. Chapter 12

**_Authors Note:_** _My apologises that this has taken me so long to upload. I've been crazy busy with work and attempting to catch up with sleep. I am currently off for the rest of the week and with this being beta'ed for almost a week now, but not uploaded, I am already starting chapter thirteen. I will attempt to finish it tonight and get it beta'ed ready for tomorrow.  
We are slowly approching the end of my first fan fic._

Please review, you are all my muse. Without you there is no way I would have continued.  
Thank You.

Special mention to my wonderful beta, Afroz, whos been inspiring me with each new chapter. Thank You.

* * *

 **Chapter Twelve**

This whole tingly feeling felt like a whole new sensation for Isabella. One minute she was on the planet surface, now a spaceship. She had often looked up at the Stars before the sun completely set and wondered what else was out there. Obviously she knew all about the evil Yamanian, but she had just assumed that was it. Of course she was told about planets by her dear old grandfather, many a time they sat around the fire in the safety of the mountains as he told stories to the other survivors.

As her vision came into focus she instantly grabbed her brother's hand, squeezing it tightly. There were only three of them left now. Isabella's eyes began to water as she thought of her grandfather, mother, father and her friends. All lost to a war with the Yamanian.

The children froze on the transporter pad. They had never seen the inside of a ship before, let alone left their planet. Their mother gave birth to them planet side, with Nurse Harriet's mother delivering both of them just a few years apart. Nurse Harriet often spoke of how seeing Adam being brought into the world as her inspiration to follow in her mother's footsteps.

"He escaped the transporter beam. I couldn't lock onto his signal as you were all energising. I'm sorry Mr Spock. He's gone! As far as the scanners go, I cannot find another living being on that planet." Mr Scott hadn't left his post at the transporter controls. He bowed his head in shame. Nothing upset Scotty more than failing at something he was supposed to be legendary for.

"Our priority right now is to find a cure for the Captain, Mr Scott. Take the children to the Sickbay. I shall be in the lab with the Nurse."

Nurse Harriet was just as impressed at the Enterprise as the children, her eyes moving around the room. She hadn't been in a ship since she was very small. The memory instantly filled her head. Seeing the unfamiliar faces of the aliens, the sting in her arm as the sleeping poison was injected into her body. She shuddered as her arm began to tingle.

McCoy soon spoke out as he noticed her slight shudder. "Spock, you take the herbs. We will meet you down there. I need to check Nurse Harriet out for those damn river leeches first. She was in the water a while and the last thing we need is her getting poisoned too." He grabbed hold of her hand and assisted her off the transporter pad. The children followed close to her as she passed her collection of dripping herbs to Spock.

"Very well Doctor." It only took Spock a few strides and he was out the room on his way to the lab.

* * *

Nurse Chapel was still sitting at Jim's side. Squeezing his hand tightly and unable to take her eyes off Jim's monitor. She had overheard that McCoy was back on board and they were heading down. She would do anything to see him walk through Sickbays doors right now.

Jim had been intubated a couple of hours ago. Since then, he was stable, but the machine was powering his lungs with oxygen so his body could slow down and rest before the poison spread further. She hated seeing so many tubes going into her Captain, as she would for any of her patients. Although she had to admit, she wouldn't normally sit with one for so long.

Sickbay doors whooshed open and McCoy stepped in. Nurse Chapel hadn't been this happy to see her boss in a long time, especially after being planet side. A smile slid across her face as McCoy led Nurse Harriet to a biobed. The children following her like little lost puppies.

Nurse Chapel let go of the captain and walked over to see them.

"Doctor McCoy. Were you able to collect the herbs?"

McCoy didn't even look at her; he was far too concerned for Nurse Harriet, waving a tricorder over her.

"Doesn't look like any leeches got into you Harriet." He grinned.

Nurse Harriet smiled back, also ignoring Nurse Chapel. "I could have told you that Leonard. I'm fine."

Nurse Chapel rolled her eyes at the obvious flirting happening in front of her eyes. She crossed her arms and let out a cough to get some attention.

"Oh! Sorry, Chris. This is Nurse Harriet, a Humannius from the planet. She is going to help us cure…." McCoy soon trailed of as Jim entered his head. _Oh shit!_ A sudden wave of guilt instantly struck over his whole body as he slowly turned around and saw Jim intubated.

McCoy ran over to his Captain and looked over at him, grabbing his wrist instinctively checking his pulse. He read the monitor, to check his counting was correct with the monitors. His pulse was dangerously low.

"Nurse Chapel, why didn't you inform me of any changes?" Anger flashed across his face as they all walked back over to the Captain.

"We tried to contact you but communications failed. The slower his heart rate the slower the poison moves around his body. We haven't got much time Doctor." Nurse Chapel ignored the anger painted over McCoy's face. She knew it was probably more of embarrassment for forgetting about Jim rather than rage.

McCoy instantly went back into 'Chief Medical Officer mode.' "Nurse, I want you to check these children over. Give them something to eat and a change of clothes. Nurse Harriet and I will be in the lab. Any change, I want to know."

McCoy quickly grabbed a pair of scrubs for Nurse Harriet to change into as they head for the door. "I thought a change of clothes might be more comfortable." He winked to her.

 _Damn it. Stop it McCoy! You'll have time to flirt once a cure is found._

* * *

Spock was already examining the herbs under a telescope as McCoy and Nurse Harriet entered the lab.

"Fascinating. These herbs have remarkable properties." He said as he scribbled something down on his electronic clipboard.

Nurse Harriet, who had now changed into a clean, dry pair of medical scrubs, laughed as she saw Spock looking so close at the herbs.

"That won't do much."

McCoy stood close next to Harriet, desperately trying to focus in 'CMO mode' and not 'Flirty Jim mode.' Although, the desire to reach out and hold her hand was more tempting to him right now.

"Do you propose that you know to make a cure?"

Nurse Harriet just nodded plainly. "For starters you don't need to be in here with the herbs."

McCoy and Spock's faces dropped. Even though Spock was unable to show human emotions, he still looked confused.

"Then why are we wasting time in here?"

Nurse Harriet shrugged. "You were all so busy running around and I was never asked how the herbs will treat your Captain. You just assumed that we needed to be here in the labs, but we didn't even have labs in our planet."

McCoy's mind flashed red. He and Spock had both been too busy to even think to ask the expert.

"Then what do we do?"

Nurse Harriet grabbed the herbs off the side, which were currently sitting in a tray of water.

"We go and place these all over your Captain's body."

McCoy had never heard of such an easy treatment plan, so naturally he was more intrigued than ever to see it work. It HAD to work. It was Jim's last hope.

Spock rose to his feet to join them as they headed to Sickbay, but McCoy soon stopped him.

"Spock, Sickbay is getting quite busy. Perhaps you could head to the bridge and get us moving towards a Starbase? If Jim gets through this he will need more medical facilities than I have on the ship and those children can't be expected to stay on this ship forever."

Spock raised his eyebrows and tilted his head to the side.

"You speak logically, Doctor. However I was already on my way to the bridge before you stopped me."

McCoy flushed red as Nurse Harriet laughed.

 _Damn green-blooded hobgoblin._

* * *

McCoy pretty much ran back to Sickbay. He knew Jim was a fighter, but how long could one man fight against a powerful poison before his body would just give up?

Sickbay was empty now, apart from M'Benga shuffling around going over some medical reports and of course the Captain laying helpless in an induced coma. Nurse Chapel had taken the children to the canteen as instructed.

Before he could say 'Terrible Tribbles' he was pulling the biobed sheet off Jim and throwing it on the floor. Between Nurse Harriet and himself they had soon placed 25 herbs over his feet, legs, torso, arms and he even had one lying across his bandaged head. McCoy raised an eyebrow when he saw Nurse Harriet do that, although she had assured him that it was fine.

They both stood at the end of the bed, staring at his monitor.

"No change." McCoy spoke, concerned as M'Benga joined them to watch the monitor.

"This is ridiculous. Are we really going to pin all our hopes on these… plants?" M'Benga said, stress colouring his voice.

McCoy glared at him in anger.

"Shut up, dammit. It fixed my arm remember? If we don't try, then we condemn the Captain to death."

M'Benga raised his hands in defeat. He knew when not to take things any further with McCoy. "I'm off duty now, heading back to my quarters. If you need me, comm me."

McCoy's eyes didn't leave Jim's monitor as M'Benga left. He wouldn't be counting on his help unless he really needed it anyway.

Nurse Harriet moved closer to Jim's head and stroked his golden hair back with her soothing touch.

"He needs time. It will work."

McCoy rubbed his eyes. Damn, he was tired. He couldn't remember the last time he had been on duty. The day felt so long and now he was back on duty. He watched as Nurse Harriet stroked his hair back perfectly.

"Would you like to join me for a coffee in my office, Harriet? Seems we have plenty of time on our hands."

Nurse Harriet nodded, "Sounds great, although make mine a water."

McCoy smirked, "Water it is."

They left Jim covered in the herbs, leaving them to work their magic.

* * *

McCoy's office was a lot tidier than what he had been expecting; forgetting that Nurse Chapel had previously tidied it as he slept. He smiled to himself when he thought of her helping him out.

"It's nice to see you smile." Nurse Harriet spoke softly as she smiled back.

McCoy led her to the leather couch in the corner of his office. She sat elegantly, crossing her legs and sitting up straight. Even in scrubs, that were a bit big for her, she was still beautiful.

McCoy grabbed two mugs of cold water and went to join her, sitting close to her. He passed her the mug and took a refreshing sip of his own before setting it down on the floor.

"It's been a long day." He sighed.

Nurse Harriet nodded back at him before also placing her water down.

"Long and tiring. Where are the children?"

"In the canteen probably. Nurse Chapel is brilliant with children. You don't need to worry." McCoy felt the need to reassure her; after all they were all she had left too.

"You're an incredibly talented nurse. Have you thought about joining Starfleet? Once you qualify I could easily pull some strings and get you posted on this ship with me."

Nurse Harriet smiled at the doctor before letting a sigh out.

"Isabella and Adam are my priority now. I must stay with them, keep them safe. Teach them of our beliefs."

McCoy tried to hide the disappointment but knew she was right. He moved in closer to her and whispered softly. "I think they are very lucky to have such a wonderful role model."

He closed his eyes and gently touched her soft lips with his own.

She closed her eyes and embraced his gentle kiss. It had been so long since she had been kissed by a man.

However it wasn't to last as his office comm beeped and the all too familiar voice of a particular Vulcan entered the room. "Spock to Doctor McCoy."

McCoy pulled away slowly from Nurse Harriet and rolled his eyes. He stood up and walked over to his desk. Pushing the reply button harder than usual with frustration, he growled "Have you ever heard of a bit of privacy Spock?"

Spock ignored the doctor's question. "I require an update on the Captain's situation for the Starfleet command base."

McCoy rolled his eyes again. "The herbs are on, we are just…"

Suddenly, an alarm began to echo through his office. Knowing Jim was the only one in Sickbay, McCoy didn't even finish his sentence to the Acting Captain and ran out towards Jim, Nurse Harriet following in his wake.

"I've never seen anything like this before!" Nurse Harriet began to panic.

Jim was now covered in large raised purple spots and had a fever that was rising quickly.

"Goddamn it! Of all the fucking things this kid has to be allergic to, he just HAS to be allergic to the one thing that will save his goddamn life!"

McCoy attempted to move a herb off him but Nurse Harriet stopped him. "They must remain. They haven't finished drawing the poison out yet."

McCoy put the herb back into place and grabbed a hypo off the side. Luckily for him, they always kept a preloaded hypo close by when Jim was in Sickbay for such emergencies.

He jabbed it into his neck quickly and watched his body for any change.

The alarm stopped blaring as Jim's core temperature began to drop, but the purple spots stayed in their raised, angry state.

McCoy brushed his hand back through his hair and let out a sigh.

"That was too close. If his temperature had gotten any higher we would be risking a seizure."

He looked at Jim - he was covered in bruises, his nose was taped up, two black eyes, small cuts and grazes covered every single limb and then his plastered up foot. Not to mention, the hundreds of angry purple spots which were now covering him. McCoy had no words and just shook his head.

 _Dammit Jim! Why are things never easy with you?_

* * *

 _ **To Be Continued...**_ _  
_


	13. Chapter 13

**_Authors Note:  
_** _So we are almost at the end. Thank you if you are still following! I still have at the very least, one more chapter to write.  
Some feedback would be amazing._

I have a few ideas buzzing around my head for my next Jim!Hurts so we shall see if I can gather enough confidence to start it.

Thank you all.  
Thank you Afroz, My amazing beta.

* * *

 **Chapter Thirteen**

"Is Leonard your boyfriend then, Nurse Chapel?" Isabella spoke through a mouthful of ice-cream. She had never tasted such a glorious treat before. Her home planet was far too hot for something so cold. Even Adam was on his second helping.

Nurse Chapel couldn't help but let out a giggle at her innocence. Both the children were eating as if they hadn't eaten in weeks.

"No sweetie. He is my friend and my boss."

"Oh, good! That means he can stay with us and Nurse Harriet." She said as she scooped another mouthful of the delicious sweet into her mouth.

Nurse Chapel soon lost her smile, as her eyebrows dipped into a frown.

"I'm sorry, but Doctor McCoy cannot leave the Enterprise. He is our doctor."

Isabella stopped scooping ice-cream into her mouth and slowly lowered her spoon, along with her bottom lip.

"But…" the words escaped her. She trusted McCoy as much as Nurse Harriet. He had saved them from the evil. "He promised to keep us safe."

Nurse Chapel let out a small sigh. She stood up from the bench they were all sitting on and moved round to the opposite side, pulling Isabella into a warm hug. "I know he did and he will. You are going to a Star Base a little way away from here. There will be more people there and they will be able to keep you, your brother and even nurse Harriet safe."

Isabella could feel her eyes watering but refused to let the tears escape in front of her brother, she was the strong one now. "And together?"

Nurse Chapel pulled her out at arm's length and smiled. "And together. You'll always be together."

"Will there be more iced-cream there?" Adam piped up, not really understanding what they were talking about. He just wanted to make sure there was more of this treat there.

Nurse Chapel giggled as she ruffled his hair playfully. "You bet! Loads of it."

Both children smiled back at the nurse and continued to eat their desert. Nurse Chapel watched on, as her thoughts soon trailed back to Captain Kirk and Doctor McCoy.

* * *

"I think it's time" Nurse Harriet spoke with a serious tone. "Remove the tubes Leonard. He will be okay. The poison is almost out his system. He will begin to wake shortly."

"What about this allergic reaction? Would that not affect the plants' ability to absorb the poison?"

It wasn't often that Doctor McCoy asked for another opinion, however he knew absolutely nothing of this treatment.

Nurse Harriet walked over to McCoy, who was currently still at the end of the bed watching Jim's monitor like a hawk. She placed a reassuring hand on his bicep, just like Jim would.

"He will be okay, Leonard."

McCoy's tired eyes looked off of Jim's monitor for the first time since his allergic reaction and turned to Nurse Harriet's. She was smiling sweetly at him, her clear blue eyes staring into his. They took his breath away. He could feel his heart beating in his chest. He had no words and just nodded while giving her half a smile.

Normally, McCoy wouldn't have to worry about gloves, but seeing as these herbs and this rash was all so new to him, he wasn't risking any chance of cross contamination. The last thing he needed was another crew member, or even himself, becoming allergic to these herbs. Especially as they were now headed to a Star Base.

Jim was already lying flat, so McCoy moved round to the head of his bed and slowly began taking the tubes that were forcing him to breathe, away.

McCoy left the one down his throat for last; he knew it was going to be the worst.

He took firm grip of the tube and slowly began pulling it out, not expecting Jim to suddenly burst awake.

Jim's eyes shot open, forcing McCoy to move faster. Nurse Harriet held Jim's shoulders down as he fought to breathe, coughing the tube out of his airway.

"Yes, that's it, breathe Jim!" McCoy said to his friend. Coughing was always a good start that his lungs were starting to work on their own again.

Finally, the tube was out. Nurse Harriet released her grip and stepped back from Jim's biobed.  
McCoy moved to his side, as Jim continued to cough, grabbing his wrist to check his pulse.

"It's rising! His temperature could be a little lower and his oxygen could be a little higher but that's all something we can treat."

Nurse Harriet nodded gently to Doctor McCoy and drew out a smile. She was beginning to have a slight sheen of sweat on her forehead but Doctor McCoy failed to notice this.

"I am here you know…" Jim managed to cough out.

McCoy grabbed a hypospray containing tri-ox and quickly thrust it into Jim's neck before he could resist. "Better?"

"You know I hate those things…" Jim spoke with a slight rasp in his voice from the tubes being forced down his throat.

"How do you feel Jim?" McCoy asked, as he reached for another nose cannula for him. He began connecting the tubes together before tucking it over Jim's ears and sticking the two small tubes up his nose.

"Do I have to have this thing again?" Jim attempted to sit up but McCoy's hands pushed him down.

"Yes. Your oxygen levels aren't where I would like them and hold up with the sitting for a minute. You've been out for a while."

Jim just pouted, before feeling the need to scratch his arms.

"Why am I so itchy?"

McCoy grabbed the nearest tricorder and waved it over Jim's weak body.

"Ok, you can sit up a bit. But… just don't freak out okay?"

He controlled the level of the bed to make it much more comfortable, even though getting raised up even just a little bit would be torture for him, with all his bruises. Jim was able to look around sickbay for the first time in what felt like weeks.

"Why would I…" The second Jim saw his body covered in the herbs he yelled out. Then he saw the purple spots and yelled again.

"What the fuck have you done to me?"

He instantly started to scratch his arms harder before McCoy grabbed hold of his hands and moved them away from himself.

"Stop the itching or it'll get worse. It's an allergic reaction to the herbs."

Sometimes McCoy despised the way he had to speak to Jim like a child, although Jim happened to think Bones enjoyed it.

"Nurse Harriet, could you explain to our captain here, as to how he's still alive thanks to your herbs?" McCoy smiled sweetly, he couldn't help but smile at her.

Nurse Harriet felt awful. She moved closer to Doctor McCoy and opened her mouth to speak, but it was no good. She fell forward, darkness consuming her. The last thing she felt was a pair of hands catching her just before she touched the floor.

* * *

"So that's what it looks like to fall into your arms." Jim said, while itching his thighs.

"Dammit Jim! This is no time to be joking around!"

McCoy scooped her up with ease and placed her on the nearest biobed, which just so happened to be right next to Jim's. _Well, at least I can keep an eye on him at the same time._

"Quit the scratching or I WILL put your hands in restraints."

Even with his back to Jim he could tell he was up to no good. He quickly waved a tricorder over Nurse Harriet. His whole face dropped when he read the results. "Its the slow poison."

"Well its slow, you have time to find a cure?" Jim spoke up, secretly still scratching between the herbs as quietly as possible, while the doctor wasn't looking.

"Yeah it's slow, but I don't know how much slow." He ran his hand through his hair and breathed out. He turned round to face Jim, catching him off-guard.

"Seriously, I will restrain you. Last chance, kid."

Jim folded his arms in response and pouted like a child.

McCoy rolled his eyes "Don't be such an infant."

He moved over to the comm console and hit the button, "McCoy to bridge."

The familiar tones of the Vulcan replied, "Spock here."

"I have a patient here that I'm sure would appreciate a visit Spock."

Jim's ears pricked up as he heard McCoy calling Spock. This was not normal behaviour. Normally, Bones would try and keep Spock away from Sickbay knowing that Jim would ask all sorts of questions regarding the ship instead of resting.

"I am on my way Doctor. Spock out."

McCoy punched the comm off. He was just so damn tired. As soon as he fixed one problem, another one started. _When am I gonna catch a break?!_

He moved over between Jim and Nurse Harriet again, watching for the slightest movement in Jim's fingers while still managing to keep an eye on Nurse Harriet's monitor. He was losing her, slowly, but it was still happening.

* * *

Nurse Chapel entered Sickbay first, without the children. McCoy hadn't left the two bedsides; he felt torn between his two patients. He had tried pumping every type of anti-venom they had left into Nurse Harriet's body, but it was no good.

"Doctor McCoy. Do you need any assistance?" Nurse Chapel saw how tired he looked. She also noticed how Jim was starting to shiver, but refused to mention it to his doctor. She picked up the blankets McCoy had previously thrown onto the floor and tucked Jim into it.

"It's good to see you awake, Captain." She smiled sweetly.

"Thanks" He whispered, mostly for the blankets and hiding the fact that he had been lying there in his boxers for the last few hours. The warmth instantly hit him and he snuggled down into his pillow. The itching feeling was constantly there, and now he was covered, he was able to scratch without Bones noticing.

She moved over to Nurse Harriet's bed and gasped. She hadn't realised that it was her that was laying there. "What happened?"

Doctor McCoy turned his eyes off Nurse Harriet's monitor. He still wore the same pair of gloves he had when he extubated Jim. He took a deep sigh. "I'm losing her Chris. She was injected with slow poison as a child which has been just been activated. None of our drugs will work and she will be dead before we reach the Star Base."

Jim, who was secretly hacking into his thighs with his nails, had overheard the conversation.

"Why don't you try using these herbs? I'm guessing that's what made me better?"

McCoy had completely forgotten to explain everything to Jim. Usually, he wanted to know everything but he had been giving McCoy space to treat Nurse Harriet, even though he had no idea who she was.

"The herbs are absorbing your poison Jim. If we remove them now you could go back into respiratory failure. You're lucky to be alive. Your organs were starting to fail."

McCoy hadn't noticed the little movements from under Jim's blanket where he was still scratching away at his spots.

"Poison? I thought I just sprained my ankle and hit my head?"

The second he said 'head', an instant dull throb pounded in the front of his skull, causing him to squint. Nurse Chapel noticed and quickly administered a mild pain reliever that she knew Jim wasn't allergic to. The pinch in Jim's neck was welcomed for a change. He instantly relaxed back into his pillow.

"Take the herbs off me, I feel fine now."

The idea did enter McCoy's mind. He wanted to do everything he could to save Nurse Harriet, although he couldn't risk his Captain's life, could he?

He waved the tricorder over Jim again, his temperature was still a little higher than Bones liked, even with a hypo it wasn't coming down. Jim's body was still recovering and the poison was still circling around his blood.

"We could try a few, you are much better. But if I take some away it will take you longer to recover. You will have to stay in Sickbay much longer than I know you'd like. If I do this, you have to cooperate with me."

Jim stopped listening and was more focused on scratching himself in secret.

"Jim! That means no moaning, no trying to escape and…" McCoy pulled the sheet back and caught Jim scratching his now bright red AND purple spotted thighs. "STOP Scratching!"

Nurse Chapel couldn't help but giggle at Jim's childlike behaviour. Sometimes he really was just like a teenager, you ask him not to do something and what does he do? He does it.

"Fine! Deal! Just take these damn herbs off me!" Jim folded his arms to resist the compelling itch.

"Nurse, could you get some of that chamomile cream we have please? With any luck he's not allergic to that cure too. That should help calm the itching down."

"Certainly doctor." Nurse Chapel spun around and went to collect the cream as prescribed.

"I'm sitting right here you know!" Jim huffed.

"Just keep those hands where I can see them, sweetheart" he said to Jim as he patted his leg, causing Jim to wince and screw his face up.

"I'll be taking some of those herbs off as soon as Nurse Chapel returns with your cream."

* * *

 _ **To Be Continued...**_


	14. Chapter 14

**Authors Note:**

So we are almost at the end. I know I've said that a lot, but I have actually finished the story now. Just my last chapter to upload.  
I hope you enjoy Chapter 14.

Thanks again to my beta, Afroz  
and if you could drop me a review, I would be most thankful!

* * *

 **Chapter Fourteen**

"What does that button do, Spock?" Isabella couldn't stop her eyes from exploring all the buttons on the bridge.

"Do you like ice cream, Spock?" Adam asked as he attempted to climb onto the captain's chair.

"Adam! That's the captain's chair. You're not the captain!" Isabella gasped at her brother. Even she had learnt the boundaries on the ship.

Spock tried his hardest not to roll his eyes or show any emotion of annoyance towards the children. They were supposed to be having a quick ship's tour with Lieutenant Uhura while she was off duty, not messing around on the bridge.

Uhura came and stood next to a motionless Spock.

"A look into the future maybe?"

Spock instantly lifted his eyebrows. "I do not understand."

Uhura giggled to herself. He knew what she meant, he just didn't want to admit it.

"C'mon kids. I think I know where we can get more ice cream."

She ushered the children out to the turbolift just in time to receive Doctor McCoy's message.

Jim was awake.

"Mr Sulu, you have the conn" he spoke with command as he also left for the turbolift.

* * *

"Lie still! Dammit Jim. Don't make me sedate you" were the first words Spock was greeted with as he entered Sickbay.

"You try and have these plants stuck to the whole of your body and not scratch them then!"

"Don't be such an infant!"

Their voices grew louder and they soon started to shout at each other so the whole of sickbay could hear. Luckily for them it was only Jim, Nurse Harriet and the nursing staff there.

"Doctor McCoy. Do you need any assistance?"

Spock stood with his hands behind his back at the end of Jim's bed.

"Don't you dare come near me with your pinchy fingers, Spock! That's an order." Jim raised his hands to cover his neck quickly before Spock could make the move on him.

"Covering your neck is illogical Captain. The Vulcan nerve pinch is not administered in the neck."

Jim lowered his hands slowly, keeping a shifty eye on the Vulcan.

"Spock, Nurse Harriet's slow poison has been activated and Captain Itchy here is suffering an allergic reaction to the herbs."

Spock lifted an eyebrow. "I see doctor. I estimate our arrival at Starbase 10 to be 48 hours. They have more medical facilities for the Captain and the Nurse there."

"Damn it Spock! She doesn't have 48 hours!" McCoy's whole face lit red with rage. He hated the thought of losing someone he had just begun to have feelings for, however short lived they would be.

"I see, Doctor. I must attend to other matters."

He turned on his heel and left sickbay, leaving an open mouthed Jim, McCoy and Nurse Chapel in shock.

"I knew Vulcans had no emotions but really? That was a bit harsh." Jim folded his arms and sneakily scratched his bicep, before Nurse Chapel quickly patted his hand away with a frown.

* * *

"This is boring. What else can we do?" Adam yawned. It had been a long day for them all. When they had woken up for the day they had been home, in the safety of their cave. Now, they were in a starship.

Uhura just gave a gentle smile to him. She had taken them to the guest quarters in an attempt to get them to sleep. She had noticed, Adam particularly, had begun to show signs of fatigue.

"It's time to sleep. You'll be safe here. When you wake up we can go see Spock again."

Isabella was already lying on the bed getting comfortable. "Where's Nurse Harriet?" She yawned.

Uhura didn't know that her poison was activated, "She is helping to make our Captain better. When she's finished she will come here" she smiled.

Adam climbed into the bed next to his sister. "When can we meet the captain?"

"He does sound very important" Isabella spoke up, "when we saw him earlier, he was just sleeping! He can't be that important."

Uhura's smile soon left her face, thinking of how poorly the captain actually was. The whole bridge crew had no idea, everything was kept very secret when it involved the captain. She made a mental note to try and visit him later.

"The Captain is a very important man. You can see him when he's better, I'm sure. Now, time to rest."

"Can we have a story?" Adam said as his eyes slowly grew heavy.

Uhura couldn't help but smile at his innocence. "Of course."

She went on to tell them about one of the more successful missions she had accompanied the Captain on, making sure it was child-friendly. Slowly they both drifted off into an innocent sleep.

* * *

"It's going to hurt, isn't it Bones?" Usually Jim would have easily coped with pain, but when his whole body ached in pain already he wasn't sure if he could take much more.

McCoy rolled his eyes. "Don't be such an infant Jim! No. It's not going to hurt."

He pinched the stem of one of the herbs on Jim's thighs, with his gloved hand.

"You ready?" he teased.

"Seriously Bones, I know those things are basically stuck to my skin like wax paper. I do have body hair. It's going to hurt." Jim had remembered the pain of wax strips during his academy years, he had gotten stupidly drunk at a dorm party and they all thought it would be fun to wax each other as a dare. Even when he was drunk, they hurt.

"One…" teased Bones.

"Just get it over with!" Jim ordered his friend. "Don't you have more important things to be worrying about, like your girlfriend?"

Bones could feel the flush of embarrassment in his cheeks. He frowned before ripping the herb off in one quick motion.

"Oh that wasn't actually that bad." Jim said, before rubbing his leg.

"Next time I'll do it slower." Bones hissed, still annoyed at the girlfriend comment.

"Oh, c'mon don't be like that" Jim's rubbing soon turned into scratching as soon as the doctor had turned his back.

Doctor McCoy ignored Jim, hoping for a miracle as he slowly laid the herb onto Nurse Harriet's forearm.

He watched patiently, as Jim moaned in the background to Nurse Chapel about how now his leg was stinging AND itching.

McCoy rolled his eyes. He grabbed a hypo and quickly pressed it into Jim's neck.

"I think it's time for you to rest. Your temperature is still high and now we are removing the herbs. Your body is going to need the rest to recover on its own."

"Bones…" Jim's eyes rolled back into his head and he drifted off into a sleep as the sedation worked its way through his body.

"That's it, go to sleep." McCoy patted Jim's arms as he fell to sleep.

"Doctor, was that medically necessary?" Nurse Chapel knew better than to question her boss's judgement, but surely the patient awake was much better than asleep?

"It was, Nurse. If you look at his thighs and biceps he's scratched so much that he's beginning to cut the skin. That can lead to infection and more time in sickbay, the one place I know he would rather not be." He said smugly, McCoy loved it when he was right. He placed the empty hypo into Nurse Chapel's hands and turned back to Nurse Harriet.

The herb he had placed onto her skin was dried up and where it had been a healthy emerald green colour before, it was now a dried up brown leaf. He poked at the herb which just caused it to flake into a thousand pieces.

He checked Nurse Harriet's monitor and there was no change, in fact it was easily worse.

McCoy quickly turned around and took another four herbs off Jim's legs, quickly ripping them off his skin. He placed them back onto Nurse Harriet and crossed his fingers. It was no good.

He watched the herb dry up instantly.

"I don't understand! They helped Jim, why won't they help her? Our anatomy is extremely similar. The difference wouldn't be enough to do this." McCoy was stumped.

"Let me try" Nurse Chapel spoke up, still at Jim's side and writing on an electronic clipboard about Jim's current status.

She picked up a leaf and pealed it off Jim's arm, much smoother than McCoy did. She couldn't even reach Nurse Harriet's body before the herb dried up and crunched into pieces in her hand.

"No more. It's not going to work. Jim needs the herbs still." McCoy looked down at his gloved hands and it clicked.

"They must only work on one type of skin at a time once they have already been used at least once. That's why they didn't die when Harri and I first put them on Jim and they do die whenever I place one on her now. The poison wasn't active before."

"But doctor, they didn't die when you took them off the Captain and placed them onto her." Nurse Chapel was confused. She had no idea on plants and herbs like McCoy, although he was quickly learning.

McCoy raised his hands and waved them at Nurse Chapel. "I was wearing gloves this whole time. They never reacted with my skin."

"Won't they work without touching her skin?" Nurse Chapel thought maybe they still had a chance to help her.

"I don't think so, although Jim has one on his forehead over a bandage… but that risks the poison taking over again. I can't risk his life." McCoy snapped his gloves off and threw them on the floor. He had no idea what to do now. He didn't want to lose his best friend or Harriet.

He stormed off into his office, slamming the door behind him.

* * *

Doctor Leonard McCoy was pissed. He reached down into the bottom cupboard of his desk and grabbed his bottle of Bourbon and his 'emergency' glass.

Slowly he poured out a small shot, just enough to take the edge of.

He was tired and fed up. Never before had he not been able to just leave a patient to die. Especially one he cared about so much.

He downed his glass in one gulp, enjoying the burning sensation it left down his throat, before placing both hands on his head and sighing.

It's always the ones you care most about.

Even though he had only known Harriet for a short time, well a couple of days, he couldn't help but care about her. The second he laid his eyes on her in the cave, she was there, showing him her caring smile.

He felt his heart beating hard in his chest. He hadn't felt like this in a long time.

Then he remembered Isabella and Adam. She couldn't leave them and he couldn't leave Captain Allergy in this tin bucket out in space. He sighed again. A love that doomed before it started.

He heard his office door open, but refused to look up. He just assumed it was Nurse Chapel checking on him, however he was wrong.

"Doctor, I believe this will help the Captain."

McCoy took his hands away from his head and wearily looked up.

"What are you talking about dammit?"

He couldn't help but snap at the Vulcan. He had been awake for more hours than he would like to admit.

"After investigating the herbs in the lab, I was able to concoct this."

Spock placed the hypo down on the doctor's desk, right next to his glass.

McCoy raised an eyebrow.

"And what makes you think this will work with Jim's over sensitive immune system? He's already fighting one allergic reaction. I can't risk him having another."

Spock placed his hands behind his back. "I have taken the Captain's allergies into account. This will not affect them. I calculate the risk of such an incident as being 0.4%."

McCoy knew when Spock worked something out, he was always right, even though he never admitted it to him. He stood up and slammed his hands onto his desk.

"How many of these have you whipped up?" instantly thinking about Nurse Harriet "I now have two patients suffering from poison effects which I don't have enough medication for."

"I only had enough materials to make one Doctor. For the Captain."

McCoy grabbed the hypo and walked out to his two patients. Jim was still asleep luckily, so he didn't have to listen to him bitching about how itchy he was.

Nurse Harriet on the other hand, was struggling. Her temperature was high and her breathing was low.

He looked between both patients and thought…

 _What would Jim do?_

He had to make a decision. Nurse Harriet was failing quickly, while Jim remained stable.

He thought it over and over in his head.

 _Jim still has those herbs, they are working. He should recover from the poison and then he will be out of danger. Unless he goes into shock from the allergic reaction… but then we are now only 24 hours away from the Starbase. I can keep him alive till then…_

 _Harri is dying. I can't keep her stable for another 24 hours. The poison is spreading, quickly. I promised Isabella that I would keep them all safe. I can't break that promise. Jim will understand._

He walked over to Nurse Harriet and administered the hypo into her arm. McCoy never took his eyes off the monitor. Slowly the monitor readings all reached normal.

McCoy let out a sigh of relief.

Almost instantly Nurse Harriet began to open her eyes, squinting at first as they adjusted to the light.

Now it was McCoy's turn to greet her with a loving smile, which he easily beamed at her as her vision went into focus.

"What? The poison? But how?" Nurse Harriet whispered.

"Shh, darling. It's all over. Spock found a cure. You're going to be okay. Just rest." McCoy almost whispered back.

She smiled and whispered "Thank You" before falling back to sleep.

McCoy could have easily cried, although he didn't.

He turned to check on his sleeping Captain. The temperature wasn't budging but that was easily something they could control.

He couldn't take the smile off his face as he spoke to Nurse Chapel, who was still rubbing the cream over Jim.

"By golly Chris – I'm beginning to think I can cure a rainy day!"

* * *

 ** _To Be Continued..._**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen**

"I'm sure I can manage myself now Bones. I'm not a child." Jim had been in sickbay for the last week and he was bored to death, not to mention stiff. The herbs had eventually all been pulled from his skin, much to his dislike. He would have much rather peeled them off himself in the shower, although Bones insisted he did it. Something about ensuring the allergic reaction hadn't caused anything other than the rash.

The spots were still visible, although they were now scabbing over and fading. Sure he was going to be left with a few scars where he had scratched them, but he could live with that.

"How about the ones on your back?" Bones questioned, while applying the soothing cream onto his back.

Jim did enjoy the soothing and cool feeling, although the thought of his friend doing it and not that hot nurse who was just standing counting the preloaded hypos across the room just made his skin crawl.

It had been an eventful week and he was so ready to leave sickbay.

* * *

For the first time ever, Jim had woken up in Sickbay not to be greeted by his friendly family doctor, but instead the chilling emptiness of Sickbay. He had a look around but nothing, just the gentle hum of the ship.

Jim instantly sat up, confused as to what the time was, maybe he had slept through to the middle of the night, which would explain the emptiness after all. Speaking of emptiness, his bladder was certainly not.

As he sat up he felt the gentle tug of his nose cannula pulling him back down.

 _Well, there isn't a need for this now is there?  
_ Jim thought to himself, as he slowly pulled the tubes away from his face. He despised being tied into place anyway. Luckily for him, no alarms went off on his monitor.

Jim smiled smugly.

 _See, I didn't need it after all. Silly, over-protective Bones._

He threw back the blankets and swung his legs round, off the biobed, noticing he was still wearing nothing but his boxers and still had those damn itchy purple spots all over him. Although the herbs seemed to have gone.

 _Thank fuck, those nasty plants have gone._

He thought to himself again, before having a good scratch at his torso. He cocked his head to the side and shut his eyes with the relief just like a dog would.

 _Oh yeah right. Restroom…_

He placed his bare feet onto the sickbay floor and an instant light headed feeling came over him as the blood rushed down to his feet. He hadn't been able to stand in what felt like months.

He gasped at the thought that it could have been enough to set a monitor off. Although his blood pressure had dropped, the monitor stayed silent.

He let out a sigh of relief. The last thing he wanted was to be caught red-handed by Bones in the middle of the night and have to pee in one of those awful bed bottle things.

Someone must have silenced the alarm.

Having another good scratch on his arm, he shook the light headedness off and rose up to the challenge of letting go of the bed.

He stood, unaided, a little wobbly but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle, until he distributed his weight onto both feet.

He let out a yell as the gash on his foot filled with pain. He leant back on the bed instantly picking his foot up and breathed the pain away.

 _Holy shit. What the fuck did Bones do to me?_

He perched himself back on the bed, not noticing the silent alarms going off with his low blood pressure and now rising pain levels.

 _Okay, so getting to the toilet is going to be difficult... and I really need to go._

He moaned to himself, he was going to have to call for help and he hated having to depend on others more than Romulans at a Klingon party.

"Hello? Bones? Nurse? Anyone?" He called out but nobody came. "Bones!" he called out louder this time, still nothing.

 _Surely they can't all have left me?_

His bladder was now sending him a huge sense of urgency.

Jim pulled himself off the bed again and stood with his bad foot up in the air.

 _Okay, here goes nothing._

He hopped to the end of the bed, clinging onto it for support. Seeing the bathroom light at the end of the room he set his target in site.

He let go of the bed and managed to stay on one foot quite stably, he had no idea how seeing as he had been seeing stars before.

He hopped over to the next biobed and sighed with relief. He had made it with only minor pain. He managed to hop to the next bed again, every hop causing a little sting and a little more ache in his tired body.

Jim was now on the third bed.

 _Just two more, just two more. Remind me to tell Bones never to place me away from the bathroom again._

He had finally reached the bathroom door. The light was left on, giving sickbay a gentle glow.

Jim hopped in using whatever he could to steady himself.

He hopped back out after he had relieved himself and noticed doctor McCoy's office light on and the door shut. He had a good few choice words for his doctor.

 _Is it worth the pain to go and yell at him now? Or shall I wait till morning…_

 _No. It is worth it. He enjoyed ripping those plants off me a bit too much._

Jim took a deep breath in as he hopped across to McCoy's office door. It was slightly open, but not enough for anyone to notice he was there.

He steadied himself on the wall, keeping his foot up still and noticed the familiar sound of Bones' voice talking to a female.

He raised his eyebrows and just listened in.

* * *

"Thank you so much Doctor McCoy. Without you, I would have died. The children would have nobody. You truly are a saint. I will be sure to teach the children of your kind and gentle ways. You shall go down in Hummanius history as a legend. You and all your crew." Nurse Harriet said, as she grabbed McCoy's hands.

McCoy smiled at her, moving his hands so they wrapped around hers.

"Call me Leonard and I should be thanking you. You saved our captain. He would have died without your knowledge of those herbs. I will be sure to inform him of your courage. It's a shame you cannot stay. I'm sure I could pull some strings?"

Nurse Harriet lost her smile and looked down at their hands. "I wish I could Leonard. But you know I cannot. I must stay with those children. Tomorrow we reach Starbase 10 and I must leave. But I shall never forget you Doctor Leonard McCoy. I'm sure the children won't either."

McCoy sighed. "Then we make every moment count until then."

He moved in closer to her and passionately kissed her. Their hands never left each other's.

Jim peeked through the door crack to see his friend making out with the alien and gagged.

 _Cheesiest pick up line ever. I need to give him some pointers._

Jim hopped closer to the door, now using it to balance himself. But he lost his footing on the last hop, slipping and falling face first into McCoy's office. Knocking his, already cut, head once again.

McCoy and Nurse Harriet jumped out of their skin, instantly releasing each other and standing up in shock.

"Goddammit Jim! What are you doing out of bed in the middle of the goddamn night!"

Jim looked up at his friend. "I needed to pee" he slurred.

McCoy placed his hands on his hips. "Now your heads bleeding again fool. You should have called. Harri, can you help me get him up and onto the sofa?"

Nurse Harriet couldn't help but giggle at Jim's clumsiness.

"Of course Leonard."

They both grabbed Jim's arms and wrapped him round their shoulders, allowing him to hop over to McCoy's leather couch.  
Bones threw Jim down with annoyance, while Nurse Harriet pulled the coffee table a bit closer and placed Jim's foot on it in a caring fashion.

McCoy ran a tricorder over Jim quickly, seeing his blood pressure and pain levels. "Jim you should have stayed in bed."

He quickly whipped out a hypo full of morphine and pressed it into his neck.

"That will stop the pain."

Jim rubbed his neck where the hypo had pinched. "I'm fine… whoa."

Jim sunk back into the sofa, instantly relaxing his body.

"Why does he say he's fine, when clearly he isn't? It's a most… particular trait." Nurse Harriet questioned as if Jim wasn't even there. She grabbed a light blanket from one of the biobeds outside and placed it over him.

"Tell me about it. He likes to make my job hard." McCoy tutted while Jim looked around the office with a smug look on his face.

"I like this nurse." He slurred again.

"You like everyone. Now keep still. I need to sort your head out." McCoy said while rolling his eyes.

McCoy gently peeled back the bandage and gauze that was keeping Jim's newly healed forehead gash protected. The skin had split back open and the blood was a constant stream.

He grabbed some more gauze and applied pressure.

"That's a lot of blood." Nurse Harriet gasped.

McCoy just shrugged. "It's only a small opening. The human forehead always bleeds a lot. The skin was still thin from the cut he had before. As soon as the bleeding stops, I can close it. It will need a few days to thicken again, but he will be fine."

Nurse Harriet perched on McCoy's coffee table and watched the doctor work. "That's okay then."

Jim winked in a most obvious way to Nurse Harriet, making McCoy roll his eyes again.

"I'm just sorry you had to see our Captain this way. He will be easier to talk to in the morning."

"I'm easy to talk to now Bones!" Jim now winked at McCoy, causing him to move his head away from the pressure Bones was putting.

He grabbed the back of Jim's head and kept him still.

"Stay still you infant. Or do you want blood in your eyes?"

Jim pressed his lips together, lifting his finger up to his lips and shushed himself, causing Nurse Harriet to let out another sweet little giggle.

"Is he always like this?"

McCoy looked under the gauze, checking if the blood had stopped flowing before taking it away.

"A giant pain in the ass or a blubbering idiot?"

Nurse Chapel giggled again, covering her mouth with her hand.

"That's not a nice way to talk about your best friend Leonard."

"Yeah Leonard!" Jim said in a drunken like way.

"It's just the morphine, he has funny reactions to medication. Any normal person would just go to sleep, but Jim has to act like a drunken fool first." McCoy rolled his eyes at Jim. He reached out for his dermal regenerator and started closing Jim's cut for the second time.

"You're so clever Bones." Jim yawned, before letting his head fully relax.

"I know kid. Just go to sleep." McCoy still held the back of Jim's head as he fully relaxed, drifting off to sleep.

He was soon finished and together they moved Jim into a lying position on McCoy's sofa. Nurse Harriet covered him back up and they both sat on the coffee table watching him.

"So much for making every moment count" McCoy sighed.

Nurse Harriet just smiled, before ruffling Jim's hair back like she would to Adam.

"Will he be okay here overnight?"

McCoy smiled at her caring nature and how she was always putting others first. He walked round to his desk's draws and pulled out a wrist monitor, snapping it onto Jim's wrist.

"There. Any concerns and an alarm will go off. Although I doubt there will be. Even without his extra oxygen."

Nurse Harriet smiled back weakly at the doctor. It pained her to leave, but she had to.

"I must return to the children now. I shall see you in the morning for our final goodbyes, I know the children will want to say goodbye too. Good night Leonard." She stood up and kissed McCoy's cheek tenderly with her soft lips. As soon as her back was turned a small tear fell down her cheek.

"Good night Harri" McCoy whispered as she left his office.

* * *

Jim woke first peeling his eyes open and was instantly welcomed by a pounding in his skull. He slowly sat up and rubbed his head followed by his eyes. He was still in McCoy's office.

He looked over to Bones leaning uncomfortably in his chair, his chin on his chest as he snored.

Jim just smiled to himself, before realizing that he needed help to get up.

He groaned. He really didn't want to wake up Bones, even if that sleeping position did look uncomfortable.

He noticed Nurse Chapel walk past and waved, grabbing her attention. She smiled sweetly at Jim and helped him back to his biobed where his cold breakfast of porridge and grapefruit was waiting for him.

"Porridge again, Nurse?" he scrunched his nose up.

"Doctor's orders. Eat up or you know how grumpy he will get" Nurse Chapel tucked him back into bed, taking his old nose cannula away.

"When will we arrive at Star base 10?" Jim asked as he pushed the breakfast tray away.

"Oh, well, we arrived at 0600 hours." Nurse Chapel perched on the end of Jim's bed, pushing the tray back towards him.

"What time is it now?" Jim was completely out of sorts and had no way of actually knowing the time in space. He pushed the tray away again.

"1100, sir. That's why your breakfast is so cold, which you really need to try and eat" pushing the tray back towards him with a frown. Jim knew he wasn't going to win this one.

"Why didn't you wake us? Are we still there? I'd like to see Nurse Harriet and the children before they leave." Jim picked up the fork and poked at the grapefruit.

"Perhaps I should let the Commander explain…" Nurse Chapel stood up and commed the bridge for Spock, returning just as Jim took a mouthful of grapefruit.

"He's on his way."

Jim just nodded, letting her get to her rounds. The second she left he spat the grapefruit out onto the plate and pushed the tray away, scrunching his nose up at the taste.

* * *

"Put these on" McCoy threw Jim some basic Starfleet issue comforts, a black t-shirt and some grey slacks. "And for god's sake Jim, stop the damn scratching or you'll be in here for at least two more weeks."

Jim said nothing but just followed the doctors' orders. He would finally have some dignity. Shame, his feet had to suffer with the cold and stay bare a bit longer, but he had just had surgery on one of them. The painful throb constantly reminded him of this.

"So when am I getting out of here?"

McCoy picked up the PADD at the end of his bed and began making notes.

"Well, we need at least two more blood draws over 48 hours to check if the poison is completely out your system. Then, there's the spots... The bruises will fade on its own but your nose could do with a few more sessions with the dermal regenerator. Oh and you will need a couple of physiotherapy sessions. We had to cut right down into the muscle so it's weaker than you are used to."

Jim just sat there and huffed. "No time soon then."

McCoy grinned to himself. "And you promised not to complain remember? I'm guessing a couple of weeks max, kid."

Jim just mumbled to himself. "Two weeks too many if you ask me"

He folded his arms and pouted, before scratching his biceps again.

McCoy quickly grabbed his hands and raised them in the air.

"No scratching!"

They were soon interrupted by Spock entering Sickbay and striding over to them.

"Good afternoon Doctor, Captain."

McCoy had to admit, he had lost track of time. He must have really needed to catch up on some sleep, no matter how uncomfortable that damn office chair was. He rubbed the crook in his neck.

"Good afternoon Spock."

"Captain, I believe you asked for an update on Star Base 10 and our passengers" Spock said, placing his hands behind his back.

"An update? He should be resting. He's off duty. No Captain stuff!" McCoy raged.

But Jim quickly interrupted his rant "You should hear this too Bones."

McCoy raised his eyebrow, now he was intrigued.

"We arrived at Star Base 10 at 0600 hours. Lt. Uhura and I accompanied the Nurse and the children to the safety of Admiral Lewis. They are to be relocated on another planet within the week. The medical supplies we required have been placed on board and taken to the lab for storage. We are now on our way to Star Base 5 for minor engineering repairs before our new orders from Starfleet Command arrive. We should arrive in 12.4 days, Captain. This should allow you enough recovery time."

Spock hadn't realised, but giving that report had struck a nerve for Bones.

"They left? Without saying goodbye?" McCoy asked, he couldn't quite believe what he had just heard, even though he knew Vulcans couldn't lie. He hoped in this one case, Spock did.

"Thank you Mr Spock." Jim nodded to Spock as he left Sickbay and returned to the bridge.

"I'm sorry Bones. I know she meant a lot to you" Jim sincerely meant it too, especially as he had messed up their last night together.

Bones put on a brave smile for his friend. "It's okay, kid." He slapped his shoulder, triggering more itching for Jim, although he resisted it with all his might. He could see how upset Bones was. "I think I'm gonna take a shower." He couldn't even look at Jim. He felt numb. He knew the goodbye was coming, but he thought he was going to have a final chance at it.

* * *

Doctor McCoy retreated to his office and slumped into his chair. Placing his head in his hands and sighing.

 _Time to move on I guess._

He looked up through his fingers and something caught his eye, a note left on his desk he didn't notice before. He picked it up.

In the most beautiful handwriting he had seen in a while, was his name.

He slowly opened the letter addressed to him:

 _Leonard,_

 _I am sorry I wasn't able to say goodbye once more and it brings tears to my eyes that I cannot feel safe in your warm arms again._

 _I came by your office. However you looked so peaceful I couldn't disturb you._

 _I am sorry._

 _I will never forget you Doctor Leonard McCoy._

 _Wherever we may be in the galaxy, our hearts will always beat as one._

 _I pray that one day we may embrace in each other's love again._

 _Look after your friends Leonard. They need their doctor and more importantly their friend._

 _Goodbye for now,_

 _Harriet_

McCoy hugged the letter close to him before carefully folding it and placing it in his office draw. He smiled to himself. He knew he wasn't ever going to forget her.

* * *

"Right that's it." McCoy had finished rubbing the last of the cream onto Jim's back and he cleaned his hands at the sink. "You're safe to leave, BUT you must keep that monitor on your wrist. I'm not clearing you for full duty until you've completed your physio too. So that means: your quarters, paper work or eating in the mess hall. Any alarm sounds then I'll be dragging your ass straight back here."

Jim wasn't even listening now, he slipped on a pair of loose trainers that had been issued to him and slowly stood, his foot still throbbing dully in pain from the surgery.

"Don't forget this" Bones handed him an old fashioned crutch to use. "You can't put too much weight on that foot yet."

Jim rolled his eyes.

"Fine."

He took the crutch and used it to hobble out of sickbay towards his quarters where he had already told Scotty to meet him for a celebratory 'released from Sickbay' drink. It was a little tradition they had, that Doctor McCoy didn't need to know about for now.

McCoy rolled his eyes as Jim left and turned to Nurse Chapel, who was standing at his side waiting for his signature on Jim's discharge notes.

"I know for a fact he's going to go drinking with Scotty. Suppose we should get ready for a drunken fall?"

 **THE END**

* * *

 ** _Authors Note:_  
** Thank you all for reading my story.  
Thank you all for your wonderful support.

Every review, private message and word of encouragement has been inspiring. I would never have had the courage to actually submit this without you. As a huge Jim!Hurts fan, I wrote something that I wanted to see, little did I know that so many would also want to read it too.

Thank You to my wonderful Beta Afroz, who has filled my head with more and more ideas.  
Thank You to my wonderful friend Cherie, who's words have also inspired to me continue.

Please continue to review, I would love to know what you all think now its complete.

Look out for my next story!  
Katie. :)


End file.
